New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate is
all set to attach properties worth Rs 130 crore allegedly
belonging to former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda and
his aides.
The Directorate, which is probing charges of huge
illegal investments and hawala transactions against Koda and
his associates, got an approval order from the adjudicating
authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act
in the national capital.
Sources said this is the first order that the
Directorate has got and more such attachments are in the
offing as the total cost of the properties ascertained and
identified by the ED is more than Rs 200 crore.
The attachment action under the PMLA is a step where
properties of the accused are attached as "proceeds of crime",
the sources said.
The ED has identified properties primarily in the
state of Jharkhand and a few in adjoining Bihar, which will be
sealed and a complete embargo would be issued by the agency
against their sale and purchase as an inquiry is in process
against the owners- Koda and his associates.
The properties to be attached also include those
allegedly owned by Koda's associates like Binod and Vikash
Sinha, who are in judicial custody.
The Directorate had on March 4 filed a charge sheet at
a special court in Ranchi against Koda accusing him of
amassing illegal wealth of over Rs 1,340 crore in connivance
with four of his close associates including a CEO of a
Mumbai-based bullion firm.
The ED presently is also awaiting replies to its
Letters Rogatories (LRs) sent in the case to countries like
Dubai, Sweden, Thailand, Indonesia and Liberia to probe
illegal investments in this case.
Koda and his associates are facing inquiries by
various probe agencies like the Income Tax department, the CBI
and the Jharkhand Vigilance Bureau regarding the alleged
illegal investments.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, April 12, 2011, 23:45