The former cricket captain and Congress leader was summoned by the agency in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities in the Hyderabad Cricket Association
Team Clarion
HYDERABAD – Former Indian cricket captain and Congress leader Mohammed Azharuddin, who was asked to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here on Thursday, has sought more time from the agency.
The ED summons to Azharuddin is in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged misappropriation of funds in the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA).
Following Azharuddin’s plea, the agency has issued a fresh summons for October 8 to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The investigation pertains to alleged financial irregularities in the HCA. The ED conducted searches in connection with these irregularities in November last year.
The ED had also raided the premises of former office-bearers of the HCA, including ex-vice president and Indian cricketer Shivlal Yadav, Congress MLA and ex-president Gaddam Vinod, and former HCA secretary Arshad Ayub, as well as the office of SS Consultants Pvt Ltd. and the residential premises of its MD, Satyanarayana.
In October 2023, the Hyderabad Police Department filed four criminal cases against Azharuddin and other former HCA employees, charging them with criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery, and conspiracy. Subsequently, the ED filed a case to examine the money laundering angle in the matter. Later a forensic audit was also conducted in the HCA purchases.
According to a forensic assessment performed at HCA’s request, funds were allegedly mismanaged and transferred to private entities between March 2020 and February 2023. Following this, Suneel Kante Bose, CEO of HCA, filed a complaint, launching the investigation.
Azharuddin claims that the allegations against him were “false” and “motivated,” calling it “just a stunt” by his rivals to damage his reputation.
On the political front, Azharuddin, a Padma Shri and Arjuna Award recipient, began his political career with a win from Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad Lok Sabha seat in 2009 and is currently serving as the working president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee.