Shekhar Kumar, 37, currently serving as Assistant Director at the ED's Kochi office, is accused of soliciting the bribe through intermediaries to halt an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act . The case, registered by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau , stems from a complaint by businessman Aneesh Babu, who alleges that Kumar, via middlemen, demanded the bribe to cease the probe into financial irregularities involving his cashew export firm.
The VACB arrested three intermediaries—Wilson Varghese, Mukesh Kumar, and chartered accountant Ranjith Warrier—in connection with the case. Varghese was apprehended while accepting ₹2 lakh in marked currency notes, allegedly as part of the bribe. During interrogation, Varghese and Mukesh Kumar implicated Shekhar Kumar, leading to his designation as the first accused in the case.
In his anticipatory bail plea, Kumar contends that he has been falsely implicated and that there is no evidence linking him to the arrested individuals. He asserts that the allegations are an attempt by Aneesh Babu to derail the ED's investigation into his financial dealings. Kumar points out that Babu faces multiple criminal cases involving alleged misappropriation of approximately ₹24 crore from various complainants.
The ED has expressed concerns over the allegations, suggesting that they may be an attempt to delay legal proceedings. Babu, accused of cheating multiple persons by promising cheap cashew imports, has reportedly failed to comply with multiple ED summons since 2021. The ED maintains that summons can only be issued with higher authority approval and is reviewing the allegations to determine their merit.
The Muvattupuzha vigilance court granted bail to the three arrested intermediaries, citing procedural lapses during their arrests, specifically noting that the accused were not informed of the grounds for their arrest, violating Article 22 of the Indian Constitution. The court determined that due to this non-compliance, the accused were entitled to bail.