ED attaches assets of J'khand IAS officer under PMLA

The ED today said it has attached assets worth Rs 1.80 crore, including flats, plots and bank deposits, in connection with its money laundering probe against senior IAS officer Pradeep Kumar, currently posted in Jharkhand.
The agency said it has issued a provisional order for attachment of assets under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Kumar who is at present the Divisional Commissioner of Santhal Pargana of the state.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said it registered a criminal case against Kumar, a former district magistrate of Patna, after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR and charge sheet against him for alleged possession of disproportionate assets.

The attached assets include a flat each in Ranchi, Udaipur, Bangalore and Kolkata; another house in Udaipur; fixed deposits worth Rs 42.97 lakh and bank deposits to the tune of Rs 39.85 lakh.
During investigation, the ED said in a statement that it was found that Kumar "has amassed huge properties since his posting as District Magistrate of Patna. Kumar, an IAS officer of the 1991 batch, was working in Bihar till the formation of Jharkhand."
"It was found that Kumar has laundered his illicit wealth with the assistance of his brother Rajendra Kumar and Jharkhand-based businessmen Shyamal Chakravarty and Dharmendra Kumar Dhiraj and Chartered Accountant Naresh Kejriwal," the agency alleged.

It said that Chakravarty played a "key role" in money laundering as he used to receive the bribe on behalf of Kumar and invest the same in properties.

The ED alleged that Kumar "formed Nandlal HUF (Hindu Undivided Family) with the sole intent of money laundering, where his brother Rajendra Kumar was made dummy Karta."
The IAS officer, it said, "invested huge cash in Indira Vikash Patra and Kisan Vikash Patra in cash from which various fixed deposits were created which were further claimed as property of Nand Lal HUF."
It added that Kumar has "acquired huge immovable property in the name of his brother Rajendra Kumar and in the name of Nand Lal HUF which was used as front to launder the tainted money and to project it as untainted."

The accused also created a partnership firm which was used to launder the "proceeds of crime" allegedly generated by Kumar, the ED said.
It said that Kumar has also been charge sheeted by the CBI in the NRHM (National Rural Health Scheme) scam, procurement of mobile clinic and for possession of disproportionate assets.