Proceeds of Crime Used for Polls: ED Attaches More Assets in Chhattisgarh Coal Scam
The attached properties comprised land parcels, and residential flats.
Raipur: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) probing the sensational coal levy scam, occurred during the previous Bhupesh Baghel government, on Monday said that the proceeds of crime were used to fund election expenses, bribe officials and politicians.
The ED also said that it has attached eight immovable properties worth Rs 2.66 crore linked to suspended IAS officer Saumya Chaurasia who was secretary to former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, and businessman Nikhil Chandrakar, in the alleged Rs 540 crore coal levy scam.
The attached properties comprised land parcels, and residential flats.
The attachment was carried out under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002 through a ‘Provisional Attachment Order’, the ED said.
“These properties were acquired by the accused persons, namely Smt. Saumya Chaurasia and Nikhil Chandrakar, in the names of their relatives from the Proceeds of Crime generated from commission of scheduled offence i.e. illegal collection of coal levy and other extortion activities”, a press release issued on Monday by the ED said.
With this latest action, the cumulative value of assets seized in the case has increased to Rs 273 crore.
According to the ED, the investigation by it 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 Rs 25 per ton of coal transported during the period from July 2020 to June 2022, when Mr. Bhagel was chief minister in Chhattisgarh.
“During this period, approximately Rs 540 crore was illegally collected by the syndicate. The extorted cash, constituting Proceeds of Crime (POC) was used to bribe government officials and politicians, fund election-related expenses, and acquire moveable and immoveable assets”, the ED said.
During the course of investigation, 11 persons have been arrested by the ED, and till date, five prosecution complaints against 35 accused persons have been filed before the PMLA special court.
The ED initiated investigation on the basis of FIR (No. 129/2022) registered by Bengaluru police, a complaint by the Income Tax (IT) department and FIR registered by the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Chhattisgarh police in the matter of illegal collection of coal levy in Chhattisgarh, the release said.