Ranchi, July 14: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable properties worth ₹3.87 crore belonging to Santosh Construction and its associates in connection with an alleged terror funding and money laundering case in Jharkhand.
The attachment, carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, covers 11 immovable properties located in Chandwa and Balumath in Latehar district.
According to the ED, the properties were allegedly acquired using proceeds of crime linked to illegal financial transactions and extortion payments to banned Maoist organisations.
The investigation stems from two FIRs registered at Chandwa Police Station in Latehar, which were later taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The accused include Santosh Construction, Santosh Kumar Singh, Mrityunjay Kumar alias Sonu Singh, Manish Kumar, Yogesh Kumar Sahu and Rajesh Gupta.
According to the ED, one of the cases relates to a November 2019 Maoist attack near Lukuiya Mod in Latehar, during which four Jharkhand Police vehicles were set on fire and weapons were allegedly looted.
Another case involves allegations that a partner of Santosh Construction paid extortion money to the banned CPI (Maoist) through one of its regional commanders.
The agency said its investigation uncovered proceeds of crime amounting to ₹7.16 crore.
Of this, ₹2.69 crore was allegedly recovered in cash during searches conducted by the NIA, while the remaining ₹4.46 crore was allegedly invested in land purchases during the financial years 2017–18 and 2018–19 to disguise the illegal source of funds.
The ED further alleged that the accused attempted to legitimise the illicit money by purchasing properties at undervalued prices and making a portion of the payments in cash to avoid scrutiny through the formal banking system.
The provisional attachment has been carried out to prevent the disposal or transfer of the assets while the investigation and legal proceedings continue.
The ED said the action forms part of its ongoing efforts to curb terror financing, dismantle financial networks supporting banned extremist organisations and trace assets allegedly acquired through unlawful means.
