RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, June 22: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) team today started interrogating Hazaribagh -based coal trader Izhar Ansari in a case of money laundering involving suspended senior IAS officer Pooja Singhal.
The development took place after Ansari turned up before the probe agency.
On March 3, the ED had raided Ansari’s residence in Millat Colony at Pelawal in Hazaribagh. The probe agency had recovered Rs 3 crore 58 lakh cash. Apart from this, the ED had also recovered many property documents.
This case is related to the Coal Linkage episode. Suspended IAS officer Pooja Singhal is involved in this. The ED had raided 14 locations across the state in the matter. It is said that Ansari made illegal income from coal on a large scale when suspended IAS officer Pooja Singhal was the mines secretary.
It is being said that there are more than 12 shell companies in the name of Ansari. In the name of these shell companies, the money of coal smuggling was used to move here and there through hawala. The ED team got involved in the investigation after obtaining the documents of all the shell companies.
Ansari has been associated with the coal business for the last 40 years.
