BHUBANESWAR: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation has said that Serajuddin and Co extracted manganese ore illegally from Guruda mines to the tune of 14.73 lakh tonne from the forest area without de-reservation proposal’s approval.The agency on Saturday freezed Rs 8.52 crore from the bank accounts of Yazdani International private limited and its directors/promoters Seraj Yusha and Meraj Yusha under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Seraj and Meraj are joint partners of Serajuddin and Company, which was reportedly involved in carrying out illegal mining of manganese and iron ores in Odisha. The seizure comes after the central agency probed the bank accounts of Seraj, Meraj and Yazdani International, which is part of Serajuddin and Co, on June 24 this year. The ED probe found that the company obtained the mining lease without satisfying the prescribed conditions and extracted manganese ore illegally. During different years, the company also produced iron ore beyond the quantity approved by the Indian Bureau of Mines.
The central agency has already attached Rs 622 crore of Serajuddin under the provisions of PMLA. The attachment of the movable assets has been confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority. ED has also filed a prosecution complaint in the Special Court under PMLA in Khurda requesting confiscation of the attached property.In 2015, ED conducted searches at Serajuddin Mines office and a residential premise in IRC Village area in Bhubaneswar.