Chaitanya Baghel handled ₹ 1,000 cr liquor case funds, used ₹ 16.7 cr in biz: ED
Chaitanya was arrested on July 18 from his residence in Bhilai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and is currently being interrogated by ED at its Raipur office. He was remanded in ED custody for five days and is due to be produced before the judge on Tuesday.
'Investigation revealed that Chaitanya Baghel was in receipt of proceeds of crime worth ₹16.70 crore. He had used his real estate firms to intermingle the said funds. It was found that he had utilised the said cash amount (proceeds of crime) in development of his real estate project,' the agency said in a statement on Monday.
It alleged that the use of proceeds was designed by way of payment in cash to contractors of Chaitanya Bhaghel's project, and bank entries against cash, among other methods.
Baghel. The statement said Chaitanya colluded with a local businessman Trilok Singh Dhillon and utilised his companies to devise a scheme under which he indirectly received ₹5 crore in the guise of purchase of flats in his 'Vitthalpuram Project' in the name of employees of Dhillon.
'There is a banking trail which indicates that during the relevant period of transactions, Trilok Singh Dhillon received payments from the liquor syndicate in his bank accounts,' ED added.
The statement further said that Chaitanya Baghel 'handled more than ₹1,000 crore worth of proceeds of crime' generated out of the liquor sale irregularities.
'He used to coordinate with Anwar Dhebar (the elder brother of Raipur mayor and Congress leader Aijaz Dhebar) and others for transfer of proceeds of crime to the then treasurer of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee. Investigation conducted by ED has revealed that funds from this liquor scam were also handed over to key associates of Baghel family for further investments. The end utilisation of this fund is being probed further', ED said.
The alleged liquor scam in the state, according to officials, involved the illegal sale of approximately unaccounted and duty-evaded liquor worth ₹2,174 crore through state-run liquor outlets, under the protection and coordination of senior excise officials.
The ED claimed that alleged irregularities resulted in a massive loss to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of a liquor syndicate with over ₹2,100 crore.
The alleged irregularities, according to the ED, were orchestrated between 2019 and 2022 when Chhattisgarh was governed by the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government.
In January this year, ED arrested former minister and Congress leader Kawasi Lakhma, besides Anwar Dhebar, former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officer Arunpati Tripathi and some others in this probe.
Bhupesh Baghel alleged on Monday that his son's arrest was an attempt to divert attention from the illegal tree felling in the state, as the Congress was set to raise the issue in the assembly. The veteran Congress leader stated that investigative agencies were being misused to target Opposition leaders, but emphasised that he had complete trust in the judiciary.
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