ED attaches assets of EPFO officials in PMLA case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 2.89 crore of four EPFO officials in a money laundering case registered against them following corruption charges.

The central agency said it has issued a provisional order for attachment of assets under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against the officers, including assistant provident fund commissioner Ramesh Chandra Singh, of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in Kolkata.

The other officers are Samiran Kumar Mondal, Deepak Bhattacharya and Sukumar Shaw.

The attached assets include fixed deposits, bank and postal account balances and some flats in Kolkata.

In the probe it was found that Singh was receiving bribes by misusing his official position and he acquired assets disproportionate to his income, the ED alleged.

"The accused was laundering the illegal gratification by investing in various properties and parking funds in the name of his family members.

"He also created false documents to project the bribe money as legal money by creating false documents of tuition income, tailoring income, brokerage, commodity trading profit among others in the name of his wife and family members," it said in a statement.

The agency's case is based on a criminal FIR of the CBI against the accused.

The ED had earlier raided the premises of Singhand recovered Rs 10.60 lakh cash, gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 27 lakh apart from documents relating to fixed deposits, postal deposits, immovable properties and details of 75 bank and post office accounts.