New Delhi, Dec 30 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Monday said it has recovered documents related to assets worth around Rs 33 crore after conducting searches against a former Madhya Pradesh transport department official and his associates as part of a money laundering investigation related to a disproportionate assets case.
Around eight properties in the capital Bhopal, Gwalior and Jabalpur were raided by the federal probe agency on December 27 in the case against Saurabh Sharma, a former officer of the state transport department, his ‘associate’ Chetan Singh Gaur and several others including Sharad Jaiswal. and Rohit Tiwari.
The ED said in a statement that these persons were the “suspected beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime or allegedly contributed to their laundering”.
Show full article
The money laundering case stems from an FIR by the MP government’s Lokayukta police against Sharma, where it is alleged that he has “accumulated disproportionate assets worth millions of rupees in the name of his family members and associated firms and companies”.
The federal agency said details of bank accounts and properties were identified during the searches and an analysis found that Sharma had “purchased a number of properties in the names of his relatives, friends and companies in which his close associates were directors”.
Movable assets (fixed deposits) of over Rs 6 crore were identified in the name of Chetan Singh Gaur and bank deposits of over Rs 4 crore were found in the names of family members and companies of Sharma, the report said.
Some documents relating to immovable properties worth over Rs 23 crore in the names of various companies and relatives of Sharma were found along with other ‘incriminating’ documents, the ED claimed.
These assets were allegedly bought and acquired by Sharma using ‘illegal’ money obtained through ‘corrupt’ practices while working as an agent in the state transport department, the agency said.
The Income Tax department had seized gold bars weighing 52 kg and cash of Rs 11 from Chetan Singh Gaur’s vehicle some time ago.
According to the Lokayukta, Sharma was appointed as a constable in the Madhya Pradesh transport department in 2015 on compassionate grounds and voluntarily retired from service in 2023. His father, a government doctor, died in 2015, according to the Lokayukta. PTI NES Chamber of Commerce Chamber of Commerce
This report is automatically generated by PTI news service. ThePrint is not responsible for its content.