ED grills Ahmed Patel's son-in-law in Sterling Biotech bank fraud case

The ED on Tuesday recorded the statement of Irfan Siddiqui, son-in-law of senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, in connection with the multi-crore-rupee bank fraud and money-laundering probe against Gujarat-based pharmaceutical firm Sterling Biotech, officials said.

Siddiqui's statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after he was grilled on charges of links with the Sandesara brothers, the owners and promoters of the Vadodara-based company, at an Enforcement Directorate (ED) office here, they added.

It is expected that his questioning will continue on Wednesday as well.

The alleged Rs-8,100 crore bank loan fraud is said to have been perpetrated by the Vadodara-based pharma firm and its main promoters -- Nitin Sandesara, Chetan Sandesara and Deepti Sandesara -- all of whom are absconding.

The Sandesaras are also facing probes for their alleged nexus with some high-profile politicians by the ED as also by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Income Tax department under criminal sections dealing with corruption and tax evasion respectively.