The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth ₹27.86 crore linked to former IAS officer Babulal Agrawal in connection with a case of criminal misconduct and cheating.
The agency had earlier attached properties valued at ₹35.49 crore in the same case. Mr. Agrawal was arrested by the ED on November 9 and is currently in judicial custody.
The ED’s money laundering probe had started on the basis of an FIR registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Chhattisgarh. It was alleged that Mr. Agrawal and his family members acquired assets disproportionate to income from known sources.
The police action followed searches by the Income Tax Department in February 2010, on the premises of Mr. Agrawal, his chartered accountant Sunil Agrawal and family members.
Three more FIRs were registered and charge sheets filed, by the Central Bureau of Investigation against Mr. Agrawal and others for his alleged involvement in corruption.
According to the ED, the accused conspired with his chartered accountant and his brothers, Ashok and Pawan Agrawal, to open over 400 bank accounts in the name of villagers in Kharora and nearby places. These accounts were used to deposit large sums of cash.
As alleged, 13 shell companies owned and operated by the chartered accountant, besides 26 Delhi- and Kolkata-based shell entities and sister concerns of Prime Ispat Limited (PIL), owned and managed by Mr. Agrawal’s family members, were used for money laundering. The funds were brought back as share capital, including share premium, in PIL.
In 2017, the agency had attached assets worth ₹35.49 crore of the company.
“Now, the remaining plant and machinery worth ₹26.16 crore, has been attached along with ₹20.43 lakh kept in 291 bank accounts and a residential plot worth ₹39.52 lakh in the name of Xpress Mining, another entity owned by Mr. Agrawal’s family.
The ED has also attached ₹15 lakh in cash seized during the Income-Tax search, ₹4.75 lakh in the bank account of Capstone, another plot worth ₹10.25 lakh in the name of Shri Ram Vihar, ₹39.81 lakh in cash and two kg of gold.
Capstone and Shri Ram Vihar are partnership firms owned and operated by the family members of the accused, said the agency.
