In an unprecedented move, the Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against its own former chief, A.P. Singh, for alleged links with his childhood friend Moin Qureshi, who has also been booked on the charge of accepting money to get favours from public servants holding key posts.
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The case has been registered on a reference from the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which submitted evidence allegedly indicating that Mr. Qureshi had used his links in the corridors of power to secure favours for people in lieu of “commission.”
Transcripts shared
Transcripts of several “incriminating” BBM exchanges between the former CBI Director and his meat exporter friend, earlier retrieved by the Income-Tax Department, were also shared with the CBI. I-T officials had carried out searches against Mr. Qureshi and his companies in February 2014.
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CBI searches
On Monday, the CBI conducted searches on the premises of the accused persons in Delhi, Ghaziabad, Chennai and Hyderabad. According to the agency, among those named in the case are Trimax group owner Pradeep Koneru, a resident of Hyderabad, and Mr. Qureshi’s employee Aditya Sharma.
The CBI had earlier probed the alleged involvement of Mr. Koneru’s father in the disproportionate assets case against Jaganmohan Reddy.
The Directorate gathered information on Mr. Qureshi during a probe under the Foreign Exchange Management Act against his companies. The agency later registered a money laundering case against the influential meat exporter. The I-T Department too shared its findings with the two agencies for further action.
Even though Mr. Singh had earlier conceded that the meat exporter was his childhood friend, he denied involvement in any illegal act. However, following allegations, he had to resign from the post of UPSC Member about two years ago.
Lookout circular
Last October, Mr. Qureshi had flown out of the country despite an ED lookout circular against him. This led to an internal inquiry to ascertain why the immigration officials at Delhi airport allowed him to travel abroad without waiting for the ED team.
Following ED summons, the businessman came back about a month later and got his statement recorded. His wife and daughter were also summoned by the agency.