Former IFS officer Abhaykant Pathak appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday for questioning in connection with two alleged money laundering cases lodged against him.
As per reports, the tainted IFS officer appeared before the agency office in Bhubaneswar earlier during the day. His questioning is on.
It is pertinent to mention here that the State Vigilance Department had booked Pathak on charges of amassing assets worth crores which is disproportionate to his known sources of income, along with another case of job fraud involving money laundering activities by duping people on the pretext of providing jobs.
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Moreover, the ED has also summoned Gopalpur MLA Pradeep Panigrahi and his daughter for questioning. Though the father-daughter duo had been summoned earlier for appearance, they failed to show up, hastening the agency to summon them for the second time.
Pathak's son Akash had also been arrested earlier and is presently cooling heels in a jail in connection with a job fraud case. The ED is also planning to interrogate Akash, sources said.
Earlier on December 3, 2020, the ED had launched a probe into money laundering charges and financial affairs of Abhay and his son Akash who were under the Vigilance scanner for their lavish lifestyle. Following a request made by the Odisha Vigilance department, the ED and Income Tax department had bolstered the probe into the financial transactions of the duo under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act (PMLA) and Benami Transaction act.