Virbhadra Singh had been booked for alleged money laundering by the ED in November 2015.
Highlights
- Assets worth Rs 7 crore have been attached by Enforcement Directorate
- The case was registered in November 2015 on a complaint by the CBI
- Last week, Delhi High Court refused to stay the proceedings in the case
Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's assets worth Rs 7 crore have been attached by Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case against him, news agency ANI has reported.
The details of the attached assets are not yet available.
Exactly a week ago, the Delhi High Court had refused to grant a stay on the money laundering proceedings initiated by the Enforcement Directorate or ED against Mr Singh. He had appealed to the court to stay the proceedings and also quash the case. The court had asked the ED to respond by May 31.
The case was registered last year in November on a complaint by the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI which was investigating a corruption case against the chief minister. The agency is investigating charges against Mr Singh and his family members of amassing wealth of Rs 6.1 crore, alleging that it was more than what they could have earned from their known sources of income during 2009-2011, when he was Union Minister of Steel in the UPA government.
The CBI had lodged a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, naming Mr Singh, his wife Pratibha Singh, LIC agent Anand Chauhan and Chunni Lal Chauhan in September 2015. Mr Singh had invested the money in life insurance policies in his and his family members' names through the agent.
On September 26 last year, the CBI had searched the chief minister's residence and 10 other places in connection with the case. Later, the ED conducted raids and summoned Mr Singh for questioning in Delhi after the registration of the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.