New Delhi/Ranchi: The Income Tax department on Saturday conducted country-wide searches on nearly 60 properties allegedly owned by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda after the Enforcement Directorate registered a case against him for money laundering and diversion of state funds.
The searches, which began early morning, were being
conducted by at least 400 IT sleuths on the properties located
in Jharkhand, Bihar, Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi, a senior IT
officer said.
The Enforcement Directorate had registered the case on
October 9 against Koda and three of his ministerial colleagues
on charges of making huge illegal investments abroad,
including purchase of mines as far as in Liberia. Koda was
chief minister between February 2006 and August 2008.
38-year-old Koda, who may also face arrest, is the first
former chief minister and high-profile politician to have been
booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The ED had filed an Enforcement Case Information Report
(ECIR), which is equivalent to an FIR, before the Prevention
of Money Laundering Act court in Ranchi against Koda and three
of his Cabinet colleagues -- Kamlesh Singh, Bhanu Pratap Shahi
and Bhandu Tirkey -- besides five other persons.
According to the ECIR, Koda is alleged to have
purchased mines in Liberia worth USD 17 lakh (Rs 8.5 crore)
besides making other `benami` purchases in the name of his
close confidant Binod Sinha, once a tractor mechanic.
As per the ECIR, the property in the name of Sinha runs
into several hundred crores of rupees.
Bureau Report
