A Mercedes car belonging to Jagat Singh, Congress MLA and son of former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, was seized by the Enforcement Directorate two weeks ago in what could be crucial evidence that is set to take the Volcker payoff investigation far beyond the findings submitted by the Justice R S Pathak inquiry panel today.

Top Government sources told The Indian Express that while Justice Pathak has indicted Natwar Singh and Jagat for misusing their positions towards securing oil contracts, the Enforcement Directorate has succeeded in uncovering a complex trans-continental money trail.

This, sources said, leads to Jagat Singh as one of the alleged beneficiaries of the contract for two million barrels of Iraqi oil. Sources said the Mercedes was seized by ED since there is evidence that the car was purchased from the money allegedly received by Jagat from the very same 2001 contract.

The car is lying at an undisclosed destination and sources said the ED will initiate confiscation proceedings after the adjudication in the case is over.

The submission of the Pathak report to the Prime Minister is, in fact, the first of a series of actions that will unfold in the next few days.

The ED is set to send detailed show-cause notices, as first reported by The Indian Express, under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to Natwar Singh, Jagat Singh, Andaleeb Sehgal, his partner Vikas Dhar and NRI businessman Aditya Khanna.

It is understood that while the ED probe was completed a while ago, the Directorate was waiting for Justice Pathak to submit his findings and then send the notices after an unprecedented international probe for which ED officials visited New York, Jordan, Iraq and London.

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