NEW DELHI: Enforcement Directorate has filed separate charge sheets in two Coal scam cases in connection with its money laundering probe against the accused firms.
The first charge sheet was filed yesterday before the special PMLA court at the Patiala House complex here against Congress MP Vijay Darda and his Nagpur-based businessassociate.
The ED today said in a statement that it has filed a prosecution complaint (charge sheet) against Ms AMR Iron and Steel Private Limited, Darda, his business associate Manoj Jayaswal, his son Devendra, Abhishek Jayaswal and others.
The case pertains to the allocation of coal blocks in the Bander area of Maharashtra, also probed by the CBI, where the agencies have alleged that the firms and individuals involved furnished false information and got undue advantage in allocation of the said coal block by allegedly paying illegal gratification of over Rs 24.58 crore which was subsequently invested by the Dardas in Ms JAS Infrastructure and Power Limited.
An attachment order seizing assets worth over Rs 24.58 crore had been issued by the agency in July, 2014 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The ED, in this case, had alleged that illegal funds were routed through various Kolkata-based companies which, in a layered manner, landed in the accounts of another company Ms Asera Banka Pvt Ltd.
This amount, the agency had said, was the "proceeds of crime" which were used "in the purchase of shares of JAS Infrastructure and Power Ltd."
CBI has already filed its charge sheet in this case.
It had earlier claimed that Jayaswal, the director of Nagpur-based AMR Iron and Steel Pvt Ltd, had allegedly conspired with Darda and his son Devendra to cheat the coal ministry in obtaining coal blocks.
The agency had arraigned Jayaswal, Darda and Devendra as accused in the charge sheet along with the firm. The second charge sheet in the Coal scam cases has been filed against Ms Navabharat Power Private Limited of Hyderabad at the same court, last month.
The investigators, both CBI and ED, the statement said, had found that the said firm had allegedly "fraudulently inflated their net worth in their application for coal block allotment that facilitated the company in getting undue advantage in allocation of Rampia and Dipside Rampia coal blocks and selling its shares to Ms Essar Power Limited at a huge profit of over Rs 200 crore."
The ED, in 2014, has also attached assets worth over Rs 181 crore in this case under PMLA laws.
The ED, which is probing the case along with CBI, has based its case on the earlier filed complaint and charge sheet of CBI.
CBI in its FIR filed in September 2012, had named Navabharat Power Pvt Ltd, its two directors along with some unknown public servants of the Ministry of Coal and Jharkhand government and others in this case.
In the FIR, CBI had also accused unknown officials of the Coal Ministry of entering into conspiracy and "wilfully" not scrutinising documents to allow "undue advantage" for the company in getting the blocks.
The agency, in its FIR against the firm, had said in order to "embellish its claim for allocation of coal block", the firm "fraudulently" claimed that it was having the required net worth to get the coal mines.
CBI had said after allocation of coal blocks, the promoters and shareholders of the said firm sold off their entire shareholdings in July 2010 to Essar Power Ltd and its subsidiary company at "huge profit of over Rs 200 crores."
However, Essar Power Ltd has not been named as an accused in the charge sheet.