Lid blows off excise scam in Jharkhand: What's brewing?
At its core lies a nexus of bureaucrats, businessmen and excise officials who allegedly manipulated policies and institutional blind spots to run an illegal liquor syndicate spanning state borders. With 10 arrests so far, including those of private operators and a hologram supplier, and amid calls for a CBI inquiry by the Opposition BJP, the racket marks a pivotal moment for public accountability.Irregularities surround the 2022-23 excise policy—specifically, the appointment of placement agencies in contravention of norms. Allegations include rigged tenders, fake bank guarantees, sale of unaccounted domestic and foreign liquor via duplicate holograms and the generation of illicit commissions.
DUBIOUS OPERATORSTwo agencies are central to the probe: Vision Hospitality Services & Consultants Pvt. Ltd and Marshan Innovative Security Services Pvt. Ltd. Empanelled by the excise department in June 2023, they were tasked with operating retail liquor outlets across several districts. In January 2025, when Vision Hospitality failed to remit proceeds from three districts, the department initiated action to invoke the bank guarantee of Rs 5.35 crore. But a delayed follow-up and verification in March by JSBCL revealed the documents to be fabricated. According to ACB findings, Vision Hospitality's bank guarantee submitted in August 2023 was counterfeit. Even its December 2023 replacement guarantee was fraudulent.Marshan Innovative, awarded the Dhanbad zone contract in November 2023, followed an almost identical trajectory. When its defaults persisted into January 2025 and JSBCL decided to invoke the bank guarantee of Rs 5.02 crore, Marshan approached the Jharkhand High Court to block the move. A verification in March confirmed that the document was forged—a replacement, too, reportedly appeared to be just an email confirmation.advertisementDemand notices brought to light financial discrepancies, leading to the ACB probe. Investigators say that Vision Hospitality owed Rs 12.98 crore, while Marshan's dues totalled Rs 25.47 crore.The ACB alleges a coordinated effort between placement agencies and excise officials in Ranchi to suppress defaults and obfuscate liabilities. Excise officials reportedly brazenly disregarded RBI-mandated SFMS (Structured Financial Messaging System) protocols for bank guarantee verification. Investigators say Choubey played a central role in this premeditated dereliction. Internal audit mechanisms remained conspicuously dormant. Compliance officers raised no red flags. Leader of the Opposition Babulal Marandi claims he exposed flaws as early as April 2022. 'This scam did not simply happen; it was orchestrated. Those at the top were complicit,' he alleges.INTERSTATE PLOT?What makes the Jharkhand scam more concerning is its apparent cross-border blueprint. A parallel probe in Chhattisgarh uncovered an eerily similar racket, involving forged tenders, counterfeit holograms and the 'privatisation' of liquor profits in the name of reform. There, too, officials, wholesalers and placement agencies allegedly worked in concert. The Enforcement Directorate had raided Choubey in October 2024 as part of a money-laundering probe linked to Chhattisgarh. It cited a September 2024 FIR by the Chhattisgarh ACB, naming Choubey, which said Jharkhand's 2022 excise policy was crafted to benefit private profiteers.advertisementControversy dogged Jharkhand's excise policy almost since its inception, with accusations of procedural violations and backroom deals. The current ACB and ED probes reveal how placement agencies siphoned off vast sums by selling unaccounted liquor, distributing duplicate holograms and funnelling off foreign liquor allotments.In May, following public outrage and mounting evidence, the Jharkhand cabinet scrapped the policy. Retail sales were reverted to private players through a lottery system, while JSBCL retained control of wholesale operations. The move was framed as a corrective measure to stem revenue losses and mitigate operational dysfunction.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- Ends
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