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By Divyesh Singh, Munish Pandey: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) provisionally attached 90 assets worth Rs 51.40 crore belonging to Congress MLAs, IAS officers and businessmen related to the infamous coal businessman Suryakant Tiwari, ED officials said on Tuesday.
The raids were initiated under the ongoing investigation in the illegal coal levy extortion scam in Chhattisgarh. IAS officer Ranu Sahu, Congress MLAs Devender Yadav and Chandradev Prasad Rai, and others, including RP Singh, Vinod Tiwari and Ram Gopal Agarwal, have been named in the case along with Suryakant Tiwari. The assets attached include immovable properties, luxurious vehicles, jewellery and cash.
During the probe, the ED officials established direct evidence of financial linkages of the above persons with Suryakant Tiwari. They further identified assets created by layering of the proceeds of crime or equivalent assets for attachment proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
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The raids pertain to a massive scam wherein an illegal levy of Rs 25 was allegedly being extorted for every tonne of coal transported in Chhattisgarh. The matter also has political underlining as the raids typically target politicians from Congress, senior bureaucrats, businessmen and middlemen in the state, who are all close aides of Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel.
During the last raid in the case, the ED had attached properties worth Rs 170 crore belonging to Suryakant Tiwari, along with IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi, Chhattisgarh Civil Service officer Saumya Chaurasia, and Sunil Agarwal among others. The total attachment in this case has reached approximately Rs 221.5 crore during the searches conducted across 145 locations so far.
Nine accused have been arrested under PMLA in the case. All of them are currently in judicial custody. The ED has alleged that the proceeds obtained illegally were diverted to the party funds and other individuals, claiming that the funds were used during the Khairagarh bypolls. Further investigation in the case is under way.
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