The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has launched a money laundering investigation against Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra and businessman Darshan Hiranandani. The probe is linked to an alleged cash-for-queries scam, according to official sources on Tuesday.
The federal agency initiated the enforcement case information report (ECIR), which is equivalent to a police FIR, based on a complaint filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the sources said.
The ED registered the case two to three days ago and has been investigating Moitra and Hiranandani under the civil sections of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). Both individuals have been called in for questioning, but have not appeared yet, citing official commitments.
Last month, the CBI conducted searches at Moitra’s premises after filing its FIR. Moitra, a former TMC MP from the Krishnanagar seat in West Bengal, has been renominated by the TMC to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The CBI registered an FIR against Moitra and Hiranandani following the Lokpal’s directions, instructing the agency to submit its report within six months. In December 2023, Moitra was expelled from the Lok Sabha for “unethical conduct,” a decision she has challenged in the Supreme Court.
The Lokpal directed the CBI to investigate allegations made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member Nishikant Dubey against Moitra. Dubey alleged that Moitra had accepted cash and gifts from Hiranandani in exchange for asking questions in the Lok Sabha to criticize industrialist Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others.
The FIR, registered on March 21, charges Moitra and Hiranandani with “criminal conspiracy, offences related to public servant being bribed, offence relating to bribing of a public servant, and abetment.”
