The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has attached properties valued Rs 2.85 crore in a case involving Ayodhya Prasad Mishra, the former Managing Director of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL).
ED's Lucknow Zonal Office, attached these properties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The attached assets include three immovable properties--a residential flat, a commercial shop in Lucknow, and agricultural land in Gonda--owned by Mishra and his family members. The ED initiated its investigation based on a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Uttar Pradesh vigilance department under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. It was alleged that Ayodhya Prasad Mishra earned a total income of Rs 1.92 crore from legitimate sources in the prescribed period, against which Rs 5.08 crore was spent on creation of assets. This indicates an excess expenditure of Rs 3.15 crore, about 163.23 per cent more than his lawful income. The ED's probe uncovered that Mishra used his family members' bank accounts to launder illicit funds, which were subsequently invested in various immovable properties in Lucknow and Gonda. These assets, deemed to be proceeds of crime, have now been provisionally attached by the ED. (ANI)
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