ED summons Narada's Samuel in PMLA case

Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued summons to Narada news CEO Mathew Samuel in connection with its money laundering probe in the sting operation that allegedly saw a number of TMC leaders, including MPs and ministers, taking money on camera.

Officials said Mr Samuel had been asked to present himself or send an authorised representative before the investigating officer of the case on May 18 at its office here in the Salt Lake area. He has also been asked to bring along or send his personal financial documents, those of the news channel and income-tax returns for the last three assessment years during deposition, they said. Mr Samuel is not an accused in the Enforcement Case Information Report and the ED wants to quiz him to get information about the sting and circumstances in which it was done. He has been quizzed by the CBI in this case before. CBI too, is probing the case separately on charges of alleged corruption.

The agency had registered a criminal compliant in this case last month under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after studying the CBI FIR. It will probe the “proceeds of crime” generated in the case.

While the CBI’s criminal FIR had been registered against 12 TMC leaders and an IPS officer, the Enforcement Directorate’s FIR, called Enforcement Case Information Report, has been booked against 14 entities that include a category of unknown persons apart from the 13 in the CBI compliant, they said. The sting operation pertains to the secret filming of the TMC leaders and the IPS officer while they allegedly accepted money from the representatives of a fictitious company in lieu of favours.