The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on Tuesday at the properties of retired IAS officer and former Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) secretary, Ramesh Abhishek, as part of an investigation into disproportionate assets linked to money laundering, according to official sources.
This probe by the ED is an offshoot of a recent FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Abhishek, who belongs to the 1982 batch of IAS officers. Abhishek had previously been subject to a CBI raid in February.
Abhishek retired from the DPIIT, previously known as the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, in 2019.
The ED’s search of Abhishek’s premises is part of a broader investigation into potential money laundering activities, as per the sources.
The FIR filed by the CBI alleges that Abhishek amassed wealth illicitly post-retirement by receiving substantial consultation fees from private companies with whom he had dealings during his tenure in government service.
Both the CBI and the ED have also implicated Abhishek’s daughter, Vanessa, in their investigations.
Apart from his role at the DPIIT, Abhishek had also served as chairman of the Forward Markets Commission. The CBI initiated its case against him based on a referral from the anti-corruption ombudsman, Lokpal.
The Lokpal contends that Abhishek and his daughter received significant sums as professional fees from various entities and organizations with whom Abhishek had official interactions during his tenure as secretary or chairman.