New Delhi [India], February 4 (HBTV): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said it has attached eight immovable properties valued at INR 2.66 crore belonging to arrested Chhattisgarh officer and former deputy secretary to former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Saumya Chaurasia, and co-accused Nikhil Chandrakar. The assets were allegedly acquired through proceeds of crime generated from illegal coal levy collections and other extortion-related activities.
According to the ED, the accused had acquired the properties in the names of their relatives using proceeds of crime derived from the commission of scheduled offences. The attachment was carried out by the ED’s Raipur Zonal Office under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The attached assets include eight immovable properties comprising land parcels and residential flats, collectively valued at INR 2.66 crore.
The ED said it initiated the investigation based on FIR No. 129/2022 registered by the Bengaluru Police, Prosecution Complaint No. 3167/2023 dated June 19, 2023 filed by the Income Tax Department, and FIR No. 03/2024 dated January 11, 2024 registered by the Economic Offences Wing and Anti-Corruption Branch in Raipur, in connection with the illegal collection of coal levy in Chhattisgarh.
‘Investigation has revealed that a group of private individuals, in active connivance with senior state politicians and bureaucrats, had formed a racket to extort money from coal transporters at the rate of INR 25 per tonne of coal transported during the period from July 2020 to June 2022. During this period, approximately INR 540 crore was illegally collected by the syndicate. The extorted cash, constituting proceeds of crime, was used to bribe government officials and politicians, fund election-related expenses, and acquire movable and immovable assets,’ the ED said.
The agency added that, so far, properties worth INR 273 crore belonging to the accused persons have been identified and attached.
During the course of the investigation, the ED has arrested 11 persons. To date, five prosecution complaints against 35 accused persons have been filed before the Special PMLA court.
(ANI)