A special court here has issued orders to freeze a posh bungalow in Lutyens Delhi in an alleged money laundering case registered against a former Chief Engineer of Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation.
The court has asked Enforcement Directorate (ED) to seize the estimated Rs 23 crore-Prithviraj Road bungalow in central Delhi in the name of Arun Kumar Mishra, the former Chief Engineer of Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation identifying the asset as "proceeds of crime".
ED had registered a case against Mishra under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of a CBI case against the former UP government officer.
Official sources said while the official registered value of the seized property is about Rs 23 crore, the market value of the same could be as high as Rs 150 crore for the sheer location of the bungalow in one of the most expensive areas of the national capital.
The Adjudicating Authority of PMLA, which is a quasi-judicial body, had approved ED's attachment in this regard which was issued last year.
The agency will now enforce prohibitory orders on this property even as it continues with its money laundering case against Mishra.
An attachment order under PMLA is aimed at depriving the accused of the benefits of the property earned through illegal means.
CBI had registered a case against Mishra under Prevention of Corruption Act few years back in connection with alleged irregularities in allotment of government land.
