Cricketer Azharuddin grilled by the ED for nine hours

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) grilled the former Indian cricketer for nine hours and recorded his statements in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Former Indian cricketer and Congress leader Mohammed Azharuddin recently appeared at the Enforcement Directorate’s office in a money laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities in the Hyderabad Cricket Association in Hyderabad. He was questioned for nine hours by the ED.

Mohammed Azharuddin grilled by the ED for nine hours.

The 61-year-old former Member of Parliament was summoned to appear before the ED on October 3, but he requested a postponement. This resulted in the agency issuing fresh summons for him to appear on October 8. The federal agency has recorded his statement in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The former cricketer was seen arriving at the ED office at around 11 am on Fateh Maidan Road and left after 9 pm. He was dressed in a simple white kurta-pajama.

“All allegations are baseless.”

PTI quoted the former cricketer as saying, “All the allegations which have been made were baseless, frivolous, and done with a malafide intention. Beyond that, I have nothing more to say. I don’t want to go into the details…”

The reason behind ED questioning Azharuddin.

Investigations are focusing on alleged financial irregularities within the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA). The Enforcement Directorate also conducted searches related to these irregularities in November last year. The agency is scrutinizing Azharuddin’s actions during his time as the HCA president. Last year, he also ran for a seat in the Telangana Assembly but did not succeed.