The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Patna zonal office, has provisionally attached seven properties on Monday (December 16, 2024) worth ₹23.72 crore acquired by the associates of IAS officer Sanjeev Hans and his family members under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with a laundering case.
These properties include three land parcels in Nagpur, one flat in Delhi and three flats in Jaipur, and were bought in the names of close associates of Mr. Hans by utilising proceeds of crime, the agency said in a statement.
The ED had searched 13 locations in Delhi, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Jaipur, Nagpur on December 3, 2024, in connection with the case.
Former Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA Gulab Yadav and other associates have allegedly assisted Mr. Hans in money laundering. On October18, the two were arrested. While Mr. Hans was picked up from Patna, Mr. Yadav was arrested in Delhi.
The ED investigation revealed that Mr. Hans had earned money through corrupt practices while holding various postings in the Bihar government and during Central deputations from 2018 to 2023.
In its searches, the ED found shares worth ₹60 crore in newly opened demat accounts of the family members of a close aide of Mr. Hans. Seventy bank accounts with ₹6 crore deposits were also frozen.
The total seizure in this case includes gold jewelry and luxury watches worth ₹80 lakh and ₹65 lakh, recovered from the Patna and Delhi premises of Mr. Hans, and unexplained cash of ₹1.07 crore, 13 kg silver bullion worth ₹11 lakh and 1.5 kg gold bullion worth ₹1.25 crore and forex worth ₹20 lakh from the premises of his associates.
Published - December 17, 2024 01:01 am IST
