PMLA case: ED attaches Mumbai flat of controversial IRS officer
New Delhi: After almost a year of registering a money laundering case against controversial IRS officer Neeraj Singh, the Enforcement Directorate has now attached a posh Mumbai flat worth around Rs 3.15 crore linked to him and his family members along with at least 10 different bank accounts belonging to various members of his family as part of its probe.
The central probe agency had registered a case against the now-suspended Income Tax officer last year, after taking cognizance of a Kolkata Police FIR from 2017, which had alleged Singh's role in helping launder some of the proceeds of crime from the Rose Valley chit fund case. In the case, the role of a dubious accountant named Govind Agarwal had also surfaced, investigations into whom had revealed a massive money laundering racket involving many senior revenue officials.
According to the ED's probe more than "10 senior bureaucrats are directly connected" to a tight-knit circle of civil servants who are dubiously linked to racketeering with Agarwal and his shell companies, where their alleged ill-gotten wealth might have been parked. This list included the likes of a former Central Vigilance Commissioner, a former member (Investigation) CBDT, an Ex-DG (Investigation) posted in Kolkata and at least five other Commissioners/Chief Commissioners of Income Tax.
A senior official on Friday said that bank accounts attached include those of Singh's wife, mother-in-law, son and those of Agarwal as well, who the ED claims ran the laundering racket for these senior revenue officials. Preliminary raids at Agarwal's premises had revealed that he was running as many as 98 shell companies. Sources in the know have also said that with this attachment of property and bank accounts worth a total of around Rs 3.88 crore, there is "more than enough evidence for the predicate offence agency to file a chargesheet".
While the Central Board of Direct Taxes had served Singh with a chargesheet for involvement in other irregularities, its probe into his alleged involvement in the money laundering racket seems to be stuck in red tape.
Meanwhile, an official, on the condition of anonymity said that they have recorded preliminary statements of "several other senior Income Tax officers" whose names had come up for purported involvement in the laundering racket with Agarwal.
The Santa Cruz property linked to Singh that has been attached by the agency on Friday, according to investigators, was allegedly received as part of kickbacks from HM Diwan Jewellers. Sources said that at least Rs 5 crore in purported bribe payments were traced to Singh's accounts from HM Diwan through shell companies run by Agarwal.
According to transaction records recovered in raids at Diwan's premises in Kolkata, the ED had found that a part of the kickbacks (Rs 50 lakh), meant to stall a probe against the jeweller, was allegedly sent into Singh's mother-in-law's account, from where it was allegedly laundered by Agarwal to be used as part of payments for the Santa Cruz flat, which was purchased and registered to one of Singh's relatives.
Sources added, "Proceeds of crime were traced to each of the bank accounts attached and further probe is expected to reveal more information on the size and nature of the laundering racket." They said that this attachment might give steam to their probe into other senior officials, hoping "more informers might start coming forward now".
