ED arrests former IAS official on money laundering charge

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested a former IAS official, Babu Lal Agrawal, in reference to a case of alleged corruption, dishonest, forgery and disproportionate property. The accused used shell firms for money laundering.

The company has secured the custody of Mr. Agrawal until November 12. He was arrested from his residence in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur on Monday.

FIR by ACB

The ED initiated the money laundering probe based mostly on an FIR registered by the State authorities’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), alleging accumulation of property disproportionate to the earnings from recognized sources of Mr. Agrawal and his relations.

Earlier, in February 2010, the Income Tax Department had searched the premises of the accused, his relations and chartered accountant, Sunil Agrawal.

The Central Bureau of Investigation additionally instituted a number of FIRs and filed chargesheets in opposition to Mr. Agrawal and others, that are additionally being pursued by the ED from the money laundering angle. One of the instances, registered in January 2010, pertained to alleged abuse of official place to misappropriate the grant acquired from the Central authorities.

Another case, registered in December 2010, alleged tampering of data of a financial institution locker from which ₹15 lakh in money was seized. Both the money and the locker have been owned by Mr. Agrawal’s household. A chargesheet has already been filed within the case, stated the ED in a press release.

The third case was registered in February 2017, on the allegation that Mr. Agrawal tried to bribe public servants, in conspiracy with one Bhagwan Singh and Syed Sohrabuddin. It is alleged that Sohrabuddin, pretending to be an official with the Prime Minister’s Office at the moment, had promised the former IAS official that the CBI instances can be transferred to the State ACB for Rs.1.50 crore in bribe.

The company alleged that Mr. Agrawal paid ₹40 lakh in money and two kg of gold to Bhagwan Singh, which have been seized from him and different intermediaries. The CBI has filed a chargesheet within the case.

Tender contracts

According to the ED, Mr. Agrawal had performed an lively position in splitting the tender contracts associated to World Bank-aided malaria management programme and awarding them to sure non-existing entities, thereby inflicting losses to the exchequer.

In connivance along with his chartered accountant, his brother Ashok and one Pawan, the accused had opened greater than 400 financial institution accounts within the title of locals in Kharora and different close by villages in Chhattisgarh. The accounts have been used to deposit about ₹46 crore in money, which was subsequently laundered by means of the shell entities opened by the chartered accountant and different entities, alleges the company.

The funds have been in the end parked in Prime Ispat Limited (Raipur) as funding in shares. The ED has to this point hooked up properties value ₹36.09 crore, which incorporates property of Prime Ispat Limited and Mr. Agrawal. The company had additionally arrested the chartered accountant, it stated.