Court rejects Waze’s request for clemency in high-profile money laundering case | Mumbai News

Mumbai: A special court on Wednesday dismissed the dismissed officer Sachin Waze‘s plea for pardon in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) money laundering case in which NCP leader and former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh is accused. Looking for relief, Waze indicated he turned around approvera prosecution witness, in the related CBI corruption case, and was pardoned. He was released on bail in the CBI case on Tuesday.
In 2023, the ED withdrew the approval given to Waze to become an approver, arguing that there was enough evidence to take action against all suspects. Waze will now be treated the same as other suspects and not as a prosecution witness.
In June 2022, the ED filed its reply in the court, nodding to Waze’s plea to become an approver. The ED then named Deshmukh as the mastermind behind the conspiracy to illegally collect money from orchestra pub owners and regarding illegalities in transfer and posting of police officers. The ED has recorded Waze’s statement four times. The ED then said in its reply, “Applicant (Waze) disclosed various facts and admitted that on the directions of Deshmukh… he collected money from orchestra bar owners and handed over the same to Deshmukh through Kundan Shinde.” Shinde was Deshmukh’s private assistant and is a co-accused.
Subsequently, the CBI also allowed Waze to become an approver in a related corruption case they were investigating against Deshmukh, and was “pardoned” with certain conditions, including that he make a full and truthful disclosure of the entire circumstances regarding to the crime. In March 2023, Waze said in a publicly released letter to his lawyer that he was considering fully disclosing the Antilia bomb threat case before a competent court and asking for a pardon.
In his letter, Waze also said he was fully aware that industrialist Mukesh Ambani and his family are the most closely guarded private family in India, making them “threatening” including with certain low-quality “unexplosive” explosives linked to an irrelevant anonymous note, is “one of the dumbest things” someone can do.
On February 25, 2021, an explosives-laden Scorpio was found near industrialist Ambani’s house, Antilia. It was claimed that on March 4, 2021, SUV owner Mansukh Hiran was murdered.