ED summons 2 associates of AAP MP Sanjay Singh in Delhi excise policy case
New Delhi (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate on Friday summoned two associates of arrested AAP MP Sanjay Singh for questioning in the Delhi Excise policy linked money laundering case, officials said.
Sarvesh Mishra and Vivek Tyagi are expected to be confronted with the evidence seized by the agency during the investigation and it is understood that they will be confronted with Singh too.
The agency will record their statements under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.
Mishra is understood to have reached the ED office on Friday morning in response to the summons.
A Delhi court on Thursday sent Singh to five-day custody of the ED even as the anti-money laundering agency alleged that an accused businessman Dinesh Arora had given Rs two crore cash at the Rajya Sabha MP's residence in two tranches.
Singh has strongly rebutted the claim.
The AAP leader was arrested by the ED on Wednesday in connection with its money laundering probe linked to the 2021-22 Delhi Excise policy case and was the second high profile leader after Manish Sisodia, a former deputy chief minister, to be held in this case, in a big jolt to Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Investigation by ED has revealed that he (Dinesh Arora) has given Rs two crore cash at Singh's house on two occasions (Rs one crore at each time), the ED alleged in its remand application. The period when the cash was allegedly given was between August 2021 and April 2022.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
