Koda's frontman, aides may turn approvers

NEW DELHI: Income Tax officials questioning Manoj Punamia, the alleged frontman of former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda, have gathered enough evidence to prove the role played by each of the players in the cartel and may also be successful in turning a couple of them as approvers against Koda.

Sources said Punamia had not only started singing but was on the verge of turning into an approver. Pressure has been mounting on him with abundance of evidence in the hands of sleuths trailing the multi-million dollar money laundering racket from Jharkhand to Liberia, Thailand and South Africa.

Enforcement Directorate officials, who are questioning another accused Vikas Sinha, brother of Koda���s Man Friday Binod Sinha, are also hopeful of making him an approver in the case registered against Koda and three of his former Cabinet ministers.

The ED had last month registered a case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Koda and his Cabinet colleagues Bhanu Pratap Singh, Bandhu Tirki and Kamlesh Singh. Raids and searches on 70 premises across eight states revealed that investments made by Koda���s cartel ran into thousands of crores in rupees.

The agency is still grappling to decode the bundles of records seized during the raids. Sleuths have taken out the password and account details of the Swiss bank allegedly operated by Koda���s aides.