CHANDIGARH: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized assets and deposits worth more than Rs 6 crore from former Punjab cabinet minister and working president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) Bharat Bhushan Ashu and others related to him in a money-laundering case probe linked to an alleged tender scam.
The raids were launched on August 24 at 25 places in Punjab including Ludhiana where Ashu lives.
In a statement, the federal agency stated that Rs 4.81 crore kept in multiple bank accounts of the searched persons, prima facie identified as proceeds of crime, were frozen apart from five immovable properties worth Rs 1.54 crore along with four bank lockers. “Incriminating documents, digital devices and around Rs 30 lakh were seized from many premises,’’ it said.
The money-laundering investigation by ED started when the Punjab Vigilance Bureau registered a case against Ashu related to the transportation and labour cartage policy in 2021 and complaints related to an LIT scam.