ED attaches assets of ex-PR director of Assam Govt.

NEW DELHI: Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs. 5.54 Crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in connection with a case registered against Ranjit Gogoi, the then Director of Information and Public Relation, Assam, and different private companies, for misappropriation of money of Government of Assam, the ED said on Friday.

The federal agency has issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against the officer identified as Ranjit Gogoi.

ED initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of CM’s Vigilance Cell, Assam’s FIR dated 20.10.2017 invoking section 120B, 468, 471, 406, 409, and 420 of IPC, 1860 read with section 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

In a statement, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said its probe found that “in connivance with Assam government officials and others, different companies were able to get the work order in ‘Vision Assam Mission Assam project’, even though they did not have the required pre-qualification and laundered the proceeds of crime received by them.”

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The total proceeds of crime identified in the case till now is Rs 16.36 crore, it said.

The ED filed a money laundering case against the accused after studying an October 2017 FIR of the CM Vigilance Cell, a police unit directly under the supervision of the Assam chief minister which charged them with “misappropriation” of governme.

Investigation by ED revealed that in-connivance with Assam Govt. officials & others, different companies were able to get the work order in “Vision Assam Mission
Assam project”, even though they did not have the required pre-qualification and laundered the proceeds of crime received by them. The total Proceeds of Crime (POC) identified in the case till now is Rs. 16.36 Crore.