ED freezes assets worth more than Rs1000 cr in Chhattisgarh liquor scam, including Goa hotel
Suspense Crime, Digital Desk : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) which is investigating money laundering in the much-talked-about liquor scam case of Chhattisgarh has launched a massive raid and attached the properties of the accused in the case with a market value of more than Rs1,000 crore, including a luxury hotel in Goa. The ED said that its Raipur Zonal Office conducted this raid on May 28 under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The investigative agency had attached the properties under three different 'Provisional Attachment Orders' (PAOs) during this raid.
The agency said that the market value of the seized properties stands at over Rs1000 crore against a deed value of about 200 crore. The ED is carrying out the investigation under its Raipur Zonal Office based on a FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing / Anti-Corruption Bureau (EOW / ACB), Raipur.
The syndicate earned illegal money of 2,883 crore:
According to the agency, "Between 2019 and 2023 a liquor syndicate led by businessman Anwar Dhebar and former IAS officer Anil Tuteja has significantly distorted the State excise system and collected illicit earnings of over 2,883 crore through 'proceeds of crime' in form of higher purchase rate of liquor, unaccounted production of liquor and commission obtained by favouring certain individuals by grant of FL-10A license".
Which all properties are seized by ED:
In its first seizure order, the ED seized the properties belonging to Anwar Dhebar and Vikas Agarwal on May 28. According to the agency, Vikas Agarwal was the main money handler to collect commissions from distilleries and the license holders to channel them to Dhebar. During the period the agency also attached the properties registered in the name of his family members considering it as proceeds of crime. During the first attachment process the ED also attached various benami properties belonging to Dhebar including a plot of land in Dhebar City Homes, Raipur along with the land which were purchased by them through shell firms such as Shining Star Buildcon, Moonlight Real Estate, Swarn Infrabuild and Jai Gurudev Infrastructure. A sum total of these attached properties stood at around 30 crore.
A luxury hotel in Goa is also attached.
In its second seizure order the ED attached Hotel Westin Goa located in Anjuna in North Goa with a total market value of around 110 crore. The property stands in the name of Pacifica Hotels India Private Limited which directors are Rahul Agarwal and Vijay Kumar Agarwal. The ED alleged that the hotel was fully purchased with the proceeds of crime and whole sale payment was made in cash through the money obtained from liquor scam and was delivered on the asking of Chaitanya Baghel.
