Directorate of Enforcement (ED) attaches assets of ex-Director of IPR, Saradha Group

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached some assets of former Director, Information and Public Relations, Assam Ranjit Gogoi and Saradha Group of Companies in Assam.

According to an ED statement, the ED provisionally attached assets worth Rs 5.54 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in a case registered against former DIPR Ranjit Gogoi and different private companies for misappropriation of Government money. The ED initiated a money-laundering investigation on the basis of Chief Minister's Vigilance Cell, Assam's FIR dated October 20, 2017, invoking sections 120B, 468, 471, 406, 409, and 420 of IPC, 1860 read with section 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

An investigation by ED revealed that in connivance with Assam Government officials and others, different companies got the work order in the "Vision Assam Mission Assam" project, even though they did not have the required pre-qualification. They laundered the proceeds of crime received by them. The total Proceeds of Crime (POC) identified in the case till now is Rs 16.36 crore, the statement from the ED said.

The Vidion Assam Mission Assam was a publicity campaign of the then Congress Government in the run-up to the 2016 Assembly election in the state. There were allegations of massive anomalies in the implementation of the Vision Assam Mission Assam, leading to the arrest of then DIPR Ranjit Gogoi in November 2017.

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Enforcement also provisionally attached assets worth Rs 6.28 crore in Assam under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with a case registered against Saradha Group of Companies for running illegal Ponzi schemes by befooling common people. The ED initiated a money-laundering investigation on the basis of various FIRs and charge-sheets filed by different law enforcement agencies under Section 120B and Section 420 of IPC against various companies of Saradha Group. The investigation by ED revealed that various companies of Saradha Group invested in movable and immovable properties to launder the proceeds of crime, the ED statement said. The total proceeds of crime (POC) identified in the case till now is Rs 41.46 crore. One PAO (Provisional Attachment Order) attaching five immovable properties worth Rs. 4.35 crore was issued earlier, and the Ld Adjudicating Authority confirmed that the statement said. Further investigation is in progress.

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