ED Files Money Laundering Case Against Dismissed Assam IAS Officer Sukanya Bora

GUWAHATI: The Enforcement Directorate's Guwahati Zonal Office has filed a prosecution complaint against Sukanya Bora, a since-dismissed Assam Civil Service officer, before the Court of the Special Judge in Guwahati on charges of money laundering under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).

Bora, who served as Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) of Kamrup (Metropolitan) district, is accused of accumulating assets grossly disproportionate to her known sources of income — and then laundering the proceeds through a network of benami transactions and shell accounts.

Also Read: Assam: CM Vigilance cell files chargesheet against arrested ACS officer Sukanya Bora

The ED launched its investigation under PMLA on the basis of an FIR registered against Bora by the Chief Minister's Special Vigilance Cell (CMSVC) under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The CMSVC had flagged that Bora had amassed wealth far beyond what her legitimate income could account for. The Special Judge in Guwahati has since taken cognisance of the CMSVC's charge sheet, and that trial is currently underway in parallel.

The numbers uncovered by the ED investigation are striking. Bora joined the Assam Civil Service in 2015 with a starting salary of approximately Rs 38,000 per month.

Yet between March 1, 2017, and February 28, 2023 — the period under scrutiny — she is alleged to have acquired movable and immovable properties worth approximately Rs 7.94 crore. The ED calculated her disproportionate assets at a staggering 786.26% above her known income sources.

The ED's investigation found that Bora allegedly collected illegal gratification from applicants seeking mutation, registration, and land sale permissions — doing so through her subordinates while posted as Circle Officer at Hajo Revenue Circle.

The proceeds from these alleged corrupt activities were then laundered through what the ED described as a complex web — involving benami property purchases, layering through family members' bank accounts, and routing funds through a salon business firm.

The ED had earlier moved to provisionally attach properties worth approximately Rs 7.33 crore under Section 5 of PMLA through an order dated April 9, 2025. That attachment was subsequently confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority (PMLA) in New Delhi on September 16, 2025.

The attached assets include four immovable properties — land in Morigaon, land at Baghorbari in Guwahati, land at Hatigaon in Guwahati, and a flat at Jayanagar in Guwahati — along with an HDFC Bank account holding a balance of approximately Rs 65.54 lakh.

Further investigation into the case is ongoing, sources said.