GUWAHATI: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Guwahati Zonal Office, has provisionally attached immovable properties valued at around Rs 53.28 crore in a money laundering case involving former Assam IPS officer (promotee) Prasanta Kumar Dutta, his family members, and group companies.
In a statement, the ED said that the investigation against Dutta, who retired as Deputy Inspector General of Police in 2019, was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Branch of Assam Police.
According to the FIR, Dutta amassed assets grossly disproportionate to his known sources of income during his service period from 1992 to 2019. He and his wife were found to possess assets worth Rs 77.21 crore against a disclosed income of about Rs 7.23 crore and disclosed expenditure of about Rs 9.04 crore.
The agency said the net disproportionate assets were reasonably assessed at approximately Rs 79.01 crore based on the material available on record.
“Investigations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) revealed that the proceeds of crime so generated were laundered and projected as untainted property through three closely held companies, M/s Mahamaya Estates Pvt. Ltd., M/s Ishan Commercial Pvt. Ltd., and M/s Murari Commodities Pvt. Ltd., whose registered offices were found to be non-existent,” the statement said.
According to the ED, the investigation established the introduction of unexplained cash amounting to Rs 14,74,99,091 into the accounts of family members and the companies. The funds were allegedly layered through fictitious shareholders, Kolkata-based shell entities, and circular bank transfers before being integrated into hotel properties and residential flats in Mumbai.
“The persons shown as shareholders of the three companies were found, in large part, to be individuals with no independent means, including fictitious or name-lending shareholders. They had no source of income commensurate with the share capital attributed to them and were unable to explain the source of the funds,” the statement said.
The ED further alleged that, after his superannuation as DIG, Dutta had 3.7 lakh shares of M/s Ishan Commercial Pvt. Ltd. transferred from “dummy and fictitious name-lending shareholders” directly to his name, making him the largest shareholder of the company, which owns three of the four hotels under scrutiny.
The ED has provisionally attached four hotels, all located in Guwahati, as well as two residential flats in the Andheri West area of Mumbai. “Further investigation is in progress,” the agency stated.