Amit Kumar, the alleged kingpin of the multi-crore rupee kidney transplant racket, could be in for fresh trouble as the Enforcement Directorate mulled if he could be charged with monely laundering even as the CBI on Friday questioned his brother, father and in-laws.
With many foreign patients being his clients, Kumar has been accused of stashing a part of his earnings abroad and the Enforcement Directorate is assessing if a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act could be slapped against him and his associates.
The agency has alreary booked Kumar and others under Sections 420 (cheating), 342 (illegal confinement), 326 (causing grievous hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC and Section 18 and 19 of Transplantation of Human Organs Act of 1994.
A team of CBI sleuths quizzed the father and the brother of Kumar in Mumbai to find out whether they had any knowledge about the kidney racket allegedly run by him along with his another brother Jeevan.
The father and brother of Kumar said they had no knowledge whatsoever about the racket.
Efforts have been stepped up to arrest Jeevan as the agency is of the view that he would provide some missing links in the racket, the sources said, adding CBI teams had fanned out to different states to nab the brother against whom an Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued on February 1.
In Jammu, a three-member CBI team recorded the statement of Kumar's in-laws in Jammu to find out the details about his second wife, Poonam, who could provide some information about the huge investments suspected to have been made by the accused in Canada.
The CBI is also ascertaining the foreign clients of Kumar and who could be the conduit for bringing patients from overseas.
Kumar was questioned about his visit to Australia also, the sources said, adding all aspects would be weighed before seeking help from other countries.
Kumar, arrested by Nepalese authorities last week, was brought back to India on February nine, two weeks after the racket came to light on January 24.
