DA case: ED attaches properties worth Rs 53.28 cr of former Assam IGP Prasanta Kumar Dutta
GUWAHATI, June 27: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has ordered that immovable properties worth over Rs 53 crore of a retired IPS officer be attached in connection with a disproportionate assets (DA) case.
Prasanta Kumar Dutta, a former IPS officer who was promoted from Assam Police Service, is facing charges of amassing disproportionate assets valued at approximately Rs 79.01 crore, an official statement said on Saturday.
“The Guwahati zonal office of ED has issued the Provisional Attachment Order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), provisionally attaching immovable properties valued in the aggregate at Rs 53.28 crore (approx.) in the case relating to Dutta, who superannuated from the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police, and his family members and group companies,” the statement said.
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The ED investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Branch police station of Assam Police under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
As per the FIR, Dutta, during his service period from 1992 to 2019, amassed assets grossly disproportionate to his known sources of income, the statement said.
As against the disclosed income of the officer and his wife of about Rs 7.23 crore and disclosed expenditure of about Rs 9.04 crore, undisclosed assets of about Rs 77.21 crore were found, the net disproportionate assets being reasonably ascertained at approximately Rs 79.01 crore on the basis of the material on record, the statement said.
It further said investigations under the PMLA revealed that the Proceeds of Crime so generated were laundered and projected as untainted property through three closely-held companies — Mahamaya Estates Pvt Ltd, Ishan Commercial Pvt Ltd and Murari Commodities Pvt Ltd — whose registered offices were found to be non-existent.
The investigation established the introduction of unexplained cash aggregating Rs 14,74,99,091 into the accounts of the family members and the companies, and the layering of funds through fictitious shareholders, Kolkata-based shell entities and circular bank transfers, before integration into hotel properties and flats in Mumbai, the statement said.
“The persons appearing as shareholders of the three companies were found to be, in large part, persons of no independent means, including fictitious or name-lending shareholders, having no source of income commensurate with the share-capital attributed to them, and were unable to explain the source of the funds,” it said.
The attached property comprises four hotels in Guwahati and two residential flats in Mumbai.
“Further investigation is underway,” the statement added. (PTI)
