Chhattisgarh liquor scam: ED says Congress leader got cash at party HQ

The ED has arrested Congress leader Ramgopal Agrawal in the Rs 3,000 crore Chhattisgarh liquor scam. He is accused of receiving a large portion of the illicit cash at the Congress party office in Raipur while serving as the party's treasurer.

ED Arrests Congress Leader in Liquor Scam

Congress leader Ramgopal Agrawal, whom the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested a day ago in connection with the alleged Chhattisgarh liquor scam, has been accused by the agency of receiving a "substantial part" of the proceeds of crime estimated at around Rs 3,000 crore generated through the alleged irregularities in the state's liquor trade.

Based on a statement recorded under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, of the persons who handled and moved the cash in the 'scam', ED said: "a substantial part of the Proceeds of Crime, generated in cash, was delivered to Ramgopal Agrawal in his capacity as the then Treasurer of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee."

"The cash was delivered, at the instance of Ramgopal Agrawal and through handlers of the syndicate, at Rajiv Bhawan, Raipur, the then office of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee," ED said in a statement.

Agrawal, then treasurer of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee, ED said, was arrested on August 11 as he failed to appear in response to four summons issued to him under Section 50 of the PMLA, 2002, and in his statement subsequently recorded, he gave "evasive replies."

Agrawal, who was lodged as an undertrial in the Central Jail in Raipur, was arrested under Section 19 of the PMLA and was produced before the special PMLA court in Raipur, which remanded him to the custody of the ED for a period of seven days, up to August 18.

Probe Reveals Rs 3,000 Crore Syndicate

ED initiated the investigation on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Economic Offences Wing and Anti-Corruption Bureau (EOW/ACB), Raipur, and the charge sheet and supplementary charge sheets filed thereafter before the special court (Prevention of Corruption Act), Raipur, alleging criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and corruption in the excise administration of Chhattisgarh during 2019 to 2023.

ED said its investigation revealed that "a syndicate comprising Anil Tuteja (Retired IAS), Anwar Dhebar and Arun Pati Tripathi (ITS) orchestrated a large-scale scam in the liquor trade of the state and generated proceeds of crime of approximately Rs 3000 crore through illegal commission on accounted liquor sales, sale of unaccounted country liquor, annual commission collected from distillers, and commission collected from foreign liquor companies and against the grant of FL-10A licences."

Over Rs 1,000 Crore in Assets Attached

Agrawal's arrest comes nearly two months after the ED attached assets worth over Rs 1,000 crore in connection with the case. The attachment was done following three Provisional Attachment Orders (PAOs) issued on May 28 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, targeting properties with a deed value of around Rs 200 crore and an estimated market value exceeding Rs 1,000 crore.

According to the agency, a liquor syndicate led by "businessman Anwar Dhebar and former IAS officer Anil Tuteja allegedly manipulated the state's excise system between 2019 and 2023."

Properties Linked to Syndicate Handlers

The first attachment order pertains to assets linked to Vikas Agrawal and Anwar Dhebar. Investigators allege that Vikash acted as a key financial handler, collecting commissions from distilleries and license holders and routing the funds to Dhebar. Properties held in the names of Vikash's family members have been attached as equivalent to his alleged illicit earnings. The ED has also attached several benami properties linked to Dhebar, including plots in Dhebar City Homes in Raipur and multiple land parcels held through shell firms such as Shining Star Buildcon, Moonlight Real Estate, Swarn Infrabuild, and Jai Gurudev Infrastructure. The total value of assets under this attachment is estimated at Rs 30 crore.

Goa Hotel Acquired with Scam Proceeds

In the second attachment, the ED targeted a premium hotel property--Hotel Westinn Goa, located in Anjuna, North Goa. The property is registered under Pacifica Hotels India Private Limited, whose directors include Rahul Agrawal and Vijay Kumar Agrawal. The agency alleges that the hotel was acquired entirely using proceeds of crime worth approximately Rs 110 crore, paid in unaccounted cash allegedly sourced from the liquor scam and transported at the behest of Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who was arrested by ED in the case in July last year.

Financial Assets of Licensee Firms

The third attachment involves financial assets, including bank accounts, shares, and mutual funds belonging to three FL-10A licensee companies--Om Sai Beverages Pvt Ltd., Dishita Ventures Pvt Ltd., and Nexgen Power Engitech Pvt Ltd. According to the ED, these firms were coerced into transferring 50-60 per cent of their profits to the syndicate, amounting to nearly Rs 51 crore.

Sixth Supplementary Complaint Filed

In a related development, the ED has filed its sixth supplementary prosecution complaint before a special PMLA court in Raipur, naming four additional accused: Vijay Bhatia, T Bhuneshwar Rao, Probir Sharma, and Nikhil Chandrakar. Investigators allege that Bhatia held a 52.5 per cent benami stake in Om Sai Beverages under coercion, while Sharma was involved in physically transporting large amounts of cash linked to the scam. (ANI)

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