The logo of the Enforcement Directorate. File
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Ranchi has provisionally attached 62 immovable properties of Mohammad Ezhar Ansari worth ₹9.67 crore in the case registered against him and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
ED initiated an investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Jharkhand Police under various sections of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 and Coal Mines Act, 2017 against Mr. Ansari, his truck Driver Sayyaid Salmani and others.
A chargesheet was filed and police seized 19.56 MT of illegally transported coal and the truck carrying it.
ED’s official statement said its investigation revealed that Mr. Ansari had misused the coal linkages policy under which subsidised coal was allotted to Small & Medium Enterprises (SME) of Ezhar Ansari, for captive consumption.
“Around 86,568 MT of coal was allotted to 13 (thirteen) such SME firms of Mr. Ansari, but instead of using it as raw material for its own captive consumption, Mr. Ansari diverted and sold the coal in the open market and generated Proceeds of Crime (PoC) of Rs 71.32 Crore,” the statement said.
Further investigation revealed that these 13 firms/entities were non-operational or/and non-existent at their given addresses.
Investigation has also revealed that he has acquired huge PoC by selling such coal (of subsidized rate) at a higher price in open coal Mandi of Varanasi and Dhanbad and also invested the same PoC in several immovable properties.
ED investigation indicated that in lieu of such subsidised coal allotment, Mr. Ansari used to give bribe/commission to some public servants.
ED had conducted searches at the premises of Mr. Ansari and as a result, as much as ₹3.68 crore cash was found and seized. Subsequently, Mr. Ansari was arrested on January 16 and was now in judicial custody.
Further, a Prosecution Complaint (PC) against Mr. Ansari, Istiyaque Ahmad and M/s Rajhans Ispat Pvt. Ltd. was filed on March 15 before the Special (PMLA) Court, Ranchi and the court has taken cognizance of the PC on March 18 2024.
