ED Attaches Assets Of Former Assam Public Relation Director In Money Laundering Case

New Delhi: Enforcement Directorate (ED) provisionally attached assets worth Rs 14.94 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in connection with a case registered against the then Director of Information and Public Relation in the Assam government Ranjit Gogoi, and different private companies, for misappropriation of money of the state, the ED said on Friday.

In a statement issued by ED, it said investigation by the federal agency has revealed that in connivance with Assam government officials and others, different companies were able to get the “work order” in “Vision Assam Mission Assam Project” 2016 (VAMA, 2016), even though they did not have the required prequalification and misused the proceeds of crime received by them.

The total Proceeds of Crime (PoC) identified in the case till now is Rs 20.48 crores. In this matter, ED has earlier attached POC worth Rs 5.54 crore. Thus, total POC attached so far in this matter is Rs 20.48 crore.

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It is to be noted that the Enforcement Directorate had filed a money laundering case against the accused based on an October 2017 FIR of the Chief Minister Vigilance Cell, a police unit directly under the supervision of the Assam chief minister which charged them with “misappropriation” of government funds.

The ED on Friday also attached eight immovable properties worth Rs 6.69 crore in a loan fraud case that involve Magnum Steels and its partners.

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The properties, located in Mumbai, Panvel, Pune, Raigad and Ratnagiri, belonged to Kunal Gandhi, a partner of Magnum Steels, and his family members.

The ED probe revealed that Kunal Gandhi and Kishore Gandhi, partners of Magnum Steels, instead of repaying the outstanding loan amount, diverted the money through various accounts of their associates’ entity to acquire three immovable assets.