Patna, Feb 13 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Patna Zonal Office, has provisionally attached an immovable property worth Rs 17.35 lakh under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with a disproportionate assets case involving Sadre Alam, former Chief General Manager and Regional Officer of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Patna.
According to ED officials, the attached property is agricultural land registered in the name of Sadre Alam.
The provisional attachment order has been issued in connection with the alleged acquisition of disproportionate assets and laundering of the proceeds of crime.
The ED initiated its investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), Patna, under Sections 7 and 8 and Sections 13(1)(b) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
As per the FIR, Sadre Alam allegedly acquired assets disproportionate to his known sources of income during the period between July 2021 and September 2022.
The value of the disproportionate assets was estimated at approximately Rs 89.09 lakh.
The ED investigation revealed that the proceeds of crime were allegedly laundered through a complex money trail involving large cash deposits into bank accounts linked to Sadre Alam, which were subsequently routed through multiple layers of bank transfers.
During a search operation conducted earlier by the CBI, cash amounting to Rs 71.01 lakh, along with jewellery, was recovered from Sadre Alam’s residential premises.
The accused reportedly failed to provide any satisfactory explanation or documentary evidence regarding the source of the recovered cash.
Out of the total proceeds of crime quantified at Rs 89.09 lakh, assets worth Rs 71.01 lakh had already been seized by the CBI.
The remaining amount of Rs 17.35 lakh has now been provisionally attached by the ED in the form of agricultural land under Section 5(1) of the PMLA, 2002.
The Enforcement Directorate said further investigation in the case is ongoing.
–IANS
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