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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said it has filed a detailed 20,000-page prosecution complaint against 32 accused in connection with the alleged Rs 103.42 crore Indore Municipal Corporation fake bill scam.
The accused include contractor beneficiaries, officials of Indore Municipal Corporation, officials of the local fund audit and Resident Audit Office and other private persons who assisted in the concealment, possession, layering and use of the proceeds of crime, said the federal agency in a statement. ED's Indore sub-zonal office filed the prosecution complaint on July 24 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, before the Special Court (PMLA), Indore. The prosecution complaint has been filed inter alia seeking confiscation of the attached, seized and frozen properties involved in money laundering under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002. The court has issued notices and summons to the accused persons, and the matter is listed for further proceedings. ED said it initiated investigation based on multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by Police Station MG Road, Indore, relating to fraudulent withdrawal of public funds from the treasury of Indore Municipal Corporation through submission of fake bills, forged work orders, fabricated Measurement books, false completion certificates, manipulated note-sheets and other falsified records in respect of works which were either not executed or had already been completed under genuine work orders. ED said its investigation revealed that "various accused contractor firms, in connivance with officials of IMC and officials of the local fund audit and Resident Audit Office, prepared and processed forged work-order files and fake bills and thereby fraudulently siphoned off public funds amounting to approximately Rs 103.42 crore from the treasury of IMC." "The fraudulently obtained funds were withdrawn in cash, distributed among contractors, public servants and other beneficiaries, transferred to related and associated entities under the guise of business transactions, intermingled with other funds and utilised for acquisition of movable and immovable assets and personal expenditure," said the ED. During the investigation, the ED conducted searches at 20 premises on August 5, 2024 and August 6, 2024, leading to seizure and freezing of assets worth approximately Rs 22.04 crore, including cash, bank balances, fixed deposits, demat holdings and mutual funds, besides recovery of incriminating documents and digital evidence. Subsequently, ED also provisionally attached 52 immovable properties valued at approximately Rs 37.14 crore through two provisional attachment orders issued under the provisions of PMLA, 2002. The attached properties comprise commercial properties, residential houses and plots, and agricultural lands situated in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Accordingly, assets having an aggregate value of approximately Rs 59.18 crore have been provisionally attached, seized or frozen in the case so far. In its ongoing investigation, the ED has arrested the alleged kingpin of the scam, Abhay Singh Rathore, along with Mohd Zakir and Rahul Badera, under Section 19 of PMLA, 2002, for their central role in orchestrating and laundering the proceeds of crime. (ANI)
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