Both the notices I received did not specify the offense I had committed. Neither Kifby nor I have pointed out how FEMA violated the law. Neither the summons stated the reason for the investigation.
The Supreme Court has banned investigative tours without specifying the crime committed. It was discussed in some channels that the ED has the right to do this as per the recent Supreme Court judgment. The case on which this judgment is based is under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The summons I have referred to is the FEMA Act. A fishing and roving inquiry like this is not allowed.
If there is any violation of law in masala bond, just ask RBI to clarify it. They have given permission in writing to issue masala bond on application basis as per procedure prescribed by RBI.
Registration number for the same has also been allotted. Kifbi has been submitting a monthly report on the utilization of this fund for three years. So far there has not been a single negative comment from RBI. If there is no complaint to the regulator, what is the relevance of the ED complaint?
So, first of all, what should be said about the crime? If there is no such thing, the summons should be withdrawn. This is what I said in the letter.
Since March 2021, the ED has been summoning KifB CEO, Deputy Manager, Joint Fund Manager etc. for one and a half years on the pretext of investigation. The ED has not yet been able to find the culprit.
ED does not have the right to call people and interrogate them in the name of investigation without any crime being determined. This is illegal. It is an encroachment on my constitutional rights as a citizen. A petition has been filed in the High Court seeking protection from this.
Two summons were sent. Both times the media got it before I was notified. This kind of subterfuge is part of a conscious campaign. This is totally objectionable. ED has become a political tool of the BJP and has degenerated.
Kifbi was in charge as Finance Minister. Any document can be collected from Kifbi. As I am not a minister or an MLA, I cannot compile KIFB documents. My income statement has been submitted correctly to the Income Tax Department.
The property information submitted during the last four assembly elections is also in the public domain. ED has asked for documents that can be collected through other means. There is no need to summon me for them.
I have no close relatives who can depend on me. So I don’t have any details related to them. I don’t agree that I should collect all these things without even hinting what I did wrong.