The Enforcement Directorate has summoned senior NCP leader and MLA Hasan Mushrif for questioning in a money laundering investigation being conducted against him and others, officials said Saturday.
The politician has been asked to depose before the federal probe agency in Mumbai next week so that his statements can be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. The ED had conducted searches at multiple premises linked to him in January. Some fresh searches were conducted over the last few days in Kolhapur and some other locations.
The money laundering case is linked to a probe related to alleged irregularities in the operations of some sugar mills based in the state that are connected to Mushrif, including the Sar Senapati Santaji Ghorpade Sugar Factory Ltd to which his three sons are linked.
Mushrif (68) is a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA from the Kagal seat in Kolhapur. He is also the vice president of the party headed by Sharad Pawar. BJP leader Kirit Somiaya had in 2021 alleged that the former rural development minister (Mushrif) indulged in corrupt practices by holding 'benami' entities through his family members and companies. The NCP had then dismissed these charges.
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