Ranchi, July 13: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Ranchi Zonal Office, has provisionally attached 11 immovable properties worth approximately ₹3.87 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to Maoist funding involving M/s Santosh Construction and its associates.
The ED said the investigation names Santosh Kumar Singh, Mrityunjay Kumar @ Sonu Singh, Manish Kumar, Baijnath Ganjhu, Rajesh Kumar Ganjhu and Ravindra Ganjhu.
According to the agency, the probe originated from two FIRs registered at Chandwa Police Station in Jharkhand’s Latehar district, which were later taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). One case relates to the November 22, 2019 Maoist attack at NH-75 near Lukuiya More in Latehar, in which four Jharkhand Police personnel were killed and arms and ammunition were looted. The second case concerns the alleged payment of ₹5 lakh as extortion (levy) by Santosh Construction partner Mrityunjay Kumar @ Sonu Singh to Ravindra Ganjhu, identified as a regional commander of the banned CPI (Maoist).
The ED said the total proceeds of crime (PoC) in the case have been quantified at approximately ₹7.16 crore. Of this, ₹2.69 crore in cash was recovered by the NIA during searches, while the remaining ₹4.46 crore was allegedly layered into the construction firm as capital infusion during FY 2017-18 and FY 2018-19.
The agency further alleged that the proceeds of crime were integrated into the formal economy through the purchase of 11 immovable properties at Mouza Chandwa and Mouza Kamta in Latehar district using undervalued sale deeds and off-the-books cash payments to evade banking scrutiny.
“The total Proceeds of Crime (POC) generated in this case from commission of scheduled offences has been quantified at approximately ₹7.16 crore,” the ED said in a statement.
It added, “Investigation further revealed that the layered POC were integrated into the formal economy through acquisition of 11 immovable properties situated at Mouza Chandwa and Mouza Kamta, District Latehar.”
“Accordingly, ED has provisionally attached the aforesaid 11 immovable properties valued at approximately ₹3.87 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002,” the agency said, adding that further investigation is underway.
