NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Anil Tuteja was the ‘kingpin’ of an illegal liquor syndicate in Chhattisgarh along with liquor businessman Anwar Dhebar and the corruption money was also used for electioneering.
The ED said its investigation also revealed that from 2019 to 2022, the sale of ‘unaccounted illicit’ liquor was almost 30-40 per cent of the total liquor sale in the state. In its application filed in a special court in Raipur on Saturday seeking the remand of liquor businessman Anwar Dhebar, the ED said there was a massive liquor trade scam in Chhattisgarh by a syndicate comprising high-level state government officials, private persons and political executives that generated corruption money of more than Rs 2,000 crore.
Anwar Dhebar was arrested on May 6 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002 in connection with the alleged liquor scam and subsequently was sent for four-day ED custody. Dhebar is the brother of Congress leader and Raipur Mayor Aijaz Debhar. Tuteja, a 2003 batch IAS officer, is currently posted as the joint secretary in the state’s industry and commerce department.
The agency filed a case last year against Tuteja and others to investigate the matter under the PMLA on the basis of a prosecution complaint filed by the Income Tax Department in a Delhi court against Tuteja and others, it said.
The ED alleged a criminal syndicate was active with an elaborate network allegedly involving high-level political executives and senior bureaucrats who were extending support in which “money was being illegally collected from every bottle of liquor sold in Chhattisgarh.” Tuteja was managing the affairs and was the kingpin of this illegal syndicate along with Anwar,’ it alleged.
Detailing out the operations, the ED sources said investigations have revealed that the syndicate was benefiting from at least three levels of this organised scam. Firstly, a commission of Rs 75 to 150 per case (depending on the type of liquor) was collected by the syndicate from the suppliers for each accounted cash procured by Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL). These included illegal commission charged from liquor suppliers for accounted sales in the state, sale of off-the-record unaccounted country liquor from state-run shops and annual commission paid to allow distillers to operate in the state, it said.
“This happened despite the fact that in Chhattisgarh, the state controls all the aspects of the liquor trade from procurement to retail sale to consumers and no private liquor shops are allowed. All 800 liquor shops are run by the State. The CSMCL centrally procures all the liquor sold in Chhattisgarh.
ED investigation has revealed that in the years 2019-2020, and -2021-2022, this kind of illegal sale was almost 30-40% of the total sale of liquor in the State. It is estimated that in total `2,000 crore was generated by the syndicate in a short span from 2019 to 2022.
“The entire sale was off the books and sale consideration was siphoned off with everyone in the illegal chain getting its share including - distillers, transporters, hologram makers, bottle makers, excise officials, higher echelons of Excise Department, Anwar Dhebar, politicians and senior IAS officials,” the ED alleged.