ED opposes CA's bail plea in Rs 8,000-cr PMLA case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has opposed the bail plea of a chartered accountant, arrested in a money-laundering case allegedly linked to the political entities.
The central probe agency, in its written submission, has told the court that the case was at the initial stages and if granted the relief, the accused, CA Rajesh Agarwal, might tamper with the evidence.
Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Pandey put up the matter for argument for July 21.
Public prosecutor Nitesh Rana claimed that the probe was still on and it was not the right stage to release the accused on bail.
Agarwal has sought the relief, claiming he was in judicial custody and was no longer needed for custodial interrogation.

According to the ED, Agarwal was associated with some transactions involving a firm allegedly linked to RJD chief Lalu Prasad's daughter Misha Bharti, which is under scanner for suspected tax evasion.

The case had emerged after the ED had filed a criminal complaint in February this year under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
It was based on a charge sheet filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office against certain individuals and firms "for providing accommodation entries by accepting funds from their beneficiaries through mediators and converting the same into share premium transactions in the beneficiary company".
The ED suspects the entire racket to be worth about Rs 8,000 crore of slush funds.