(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) In fresh action in Chhattisgarh's illegal coal levy scam, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Raipur Zonal Office, has provisionally attached over 100 movable and immovable properties of the accused valued at Rs 49.73 crore, said an official on Monday.
These assets belonged to Suryakant Tiwari and others involved in extortion from coal transporters in the mineral-rich state, said the official.
The assets, seized under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 on January 30, included money in banks, vehicles, cash, jewellery and land.
After the latest ED action, properties worth Rs 270 crore belonging to the accused individuals have been attached to date in the case.
An official statement said that an ED investigation revealed that a group of private individuals, in collusion with senior state politicians and bureaucrats, were allegedly extorting money from coal transporters.
The accused allegedly charged Rs 25 per tonne of coal transported between July 2020 and June 2022, he said, adding that the total proceeds of crime (POC) amounted to Rs 540 crore.
The illegal funds were used to bribe government officials and politicians, with part of the POC also spent on elections. The remaining funds were utilised for the acquisition of various movable and immovable properties, said an ED statement.
In earlier action, movable and immovable properties worth Rs 55.37 crore have been attached by the ED.
These properties belonged to Ranu Sahu, lAS, Sameer Bishnoi, IAS, Saumya Chaurasia, the then OSD to the then Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Jai Prakash Maurya, IAS, and Ram Gopal Agrawal, Ram Pratap Singh, Vinod Tiwari, Chandra Dev Prasad Rai, Devendra Singh Yadav.
As part of the ongoing investigation, the ED has arrested 11 individuals and filed three prosecution complaints against 26 accused persons before the Special Court (PMLA), which has taken cognisance of the complaints filed.
MENAFN03022025000231011071ID1109161888
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.