Koda moved from ICU to general ward, ED set for arrest

As officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) readied to arrest him, former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, at the centre of a Rs 2,500 crore money laundering scam, was on Thursday shifted from the ICU to the general ward of the Apollo Hospital.

The decision to discharge Koda, now an independent MP, who had been admitted after he complained of high blood pressure, nausea and a stomach ache, would be taken in a day or two after doctors review his condition, doctors at the hospital said.

An ED team is in Ranchi to interrogate him. ED officials, who are being briefed about his health status by the Apollo management and have summoned him for interrogation November 9-11, have started the process to arrest Koda as soon as he is released from hospital.

If his hospital stay continues, he could be arrested and allowed treatment under the supervision of ED officials, sources said.

The interrogation will begin after Koda is discharged from hospital, added Ujjawal Choudhary, income tax director (investigation).

The ED has found alleged illegal transactions worth Rs 2,500 crore, including Rs 550 crore sent to places like Dubai, Thailand, Liberia and Malaysia, through hawala, or money laundering channels.

On Wednesday, income tax officials sealed Koda's residence. They seized four rupee counting machines, investment documents, cash, jewellery, a laptop and computer hard disk, sources said.

The income tax department and ED have conducted raids at 70 places in eight Indian cities in connection with corruption allegations against Koda and his associates, Vinod Kumar Sinha and Sanjay Chaudhary.

On October 9, the ED lodged a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Koda and three former ministers Kamlesh Singh, Bhanu Pratap Shahi and Bandhu Tirkey as well as his associates Sinha and Chaudhary.