ED registers money laundering case against ex-NCB Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede

Sameer Wankhede. File Pic

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a money laundering case against former Mumbai NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede taking cognisance of a CBI FIR, officials said on Saturday.

The central agency has booked the money laundering case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.

Wankhede, a 2008-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the Customs and Indirect Taxes cadre, has moved the Bombay High Court seeking protection from any coercive action by the anti-money laundering agency.

Last year, the CBI booked Wankhede for allegedly demanding Rs 25 crore as a bribe for not framing Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan in the drugs-on-crime case.

Wankhede has alleged that he was being punished for being a patriot.

On October 2, 2021, Wankhede raided Cordelia Cruise and arrested actor Shah Rukh Khan's son, Aryan Khan, in an alleged drug case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booked Wankhede and others for alleged criminal conspiracy (120-B IPC), and threat of extortion (388 IPC) besides provisions pertaining to bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act on a complaint from the NCB.

A year later, the NCB filed a charge sheet in the drugs-on-cruise case against 14 accused but gave a clean chit to Aryan Khan.

The much-hyped case took a twist when an 'independent witness' had claimed in 2021 that Rs 25 crore was demanded by an NCB official and other persons, to let off Aryan Khan.

The NCB later conducted an internal vigilance probe against Wankhede and others and shared the contents with CBI leading to registration of a case against him.

(With inputs from Agencies)