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The Patna Zonal Office of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached immovable assets worth Rs 23.72 crore in connection with a money laundering case, the agency said in a release on Monday.
"Directorate of Enforcement(ED), Patna Zonal office has provisionally attached 7 immovable properties on 16/12/2024 worth Rs. 23.72 Crore (approx.) acquired by associates of Sanjeev Hans, IAS namely Praveen Chaudhary, Pushpraj Bajaj and his family members under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA),2002 in connection with money laundering case against Sanjeev Hans, IAS (Bihar-1997) and others," read the ED statement. Investigation has revealed that these 7 immovable properties, viz. 3 land parcels in Nagpur, 1 flat in Delhi and 3 flats in Jaipur have been acquired in the name of close associates of Sanjeev Hans by utilizing Proceeds of Crime (POC) generated by him out of criminal activity. ED initiated an investigation on the basis of an FIR in Rupaspur police station and a subsequent FIR registered by the Special Vigilance Unit, Bihar. ED investigation revealed that Sanjeev Hans has earned illicit money by indulging in corrupt practices while holding various prime postings in Bihar Govt. and also during his Central Deputations during the period from the year 2018 -2023. Having noticed that Sanjeev Hans in connivance with some private individuals and entities has indulged in corrupt practices and also the role of his associates in the generation and laundering of POC, searches were conducted at various locations in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Patna, Pune, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Nagpur. During search operations, shares worth Rs 60 Crore(approx.) were found in the newly opened Demat Accounts of the family members of one of the close associates of Sanjeev Hans and 70 bank accounts involving huge cash deposits of Rs. 6 Crore (approx.) therein have been freezed. Further, total seizure, in this case, includes gold jewellery and luxury watches amounting to Rs 80 Lakh and Rs 65 Lakh respectively recovered from the Patna and Delhi premises of Sanjeev Hans and unexplained cash of Rs 1.07 Crore, 13 kg silver bullion worth Rs 11 lakhs (approx) and 1.5 kg gold bullion -jewellery worth Rs 1.25 Crore (approx.) and forex worth Rs 20 Lakh from premises of his associates. Further investigation is under progress. (ANI)
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