Coal blocks scam: ED attaches assets worth Rs 6.03 bn of Chhattisgarh firm

The Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth Rs 6.03 billion of a Chhattisgarh-based company in connection with the money laundering probe in the coal blocks allocation scam.

The central probe agency said it has attached, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), factory building, plant and machinery and 23 acres of land belonging to Ms Vandana Vidyut Ltd located in Katghora area of Korba district in the state.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a criminal case under the PMLA based on a CBI FIR against the company and its directors.

The Directors of the company -- Vinod Kumar Agrawal, Gopal Prasad Agrawal, Prahalad Kumar Agrawal and authorised signatory of the company Ambrish Kumar Gupta -- misrepresented and concealed facts in order to qualify for coal block allocation process and fraudulently obtained the allocation of Fatehpur East coal block in Chhattisgarh, the ED said in a statement.

The company --Ms Vandana Vidyut Ltd -- in order to claim the allocation of the coal block "fraudulently" stated the net worth of its group of companies instead of its own and also concealed the fact that another coal block was allocated by the Coal ministry to its group company Ms Vandana Global Ltd, the agency alleged.

It said that the 35th Screening Committee and the officials of the Coal ministry did not follow the guidelines and recommended the allocation of the Fatehpur East Coal Block to the company.

The ED is probing the coal blocks allocation case along with the CBI.