Chhattisgarh IAS Officer, Raipur Mayor's Brother 'Kingpin' Of Liquor Syndicate, Rs 2,000 Cr Fraud: ED

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.

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed that IAS officer Anil Tuteja, along with liquor businessman Anwar Dhebar, was the “kingpin” of an illegal liquor syndicate in Chhattisgarh that generated corruption money of more than Rs 2,000 crore. The ED further claimed that the money obtained through corrupt means was utilized for election-related activities, reported news agency PTI.

During its investigation, the probe agency found out that between 2019 and 2022, the sale of "unaccounted illicit" liquor in Chhattisgarh accounted for approximately 30-40 percent of the overall liquor sales in the state.

Anwar Dhebar was apprehended by the ED on Saturday, following which the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court sent him in four-day custody of the ED.

As per PTI, liquor businessman Anwar Dhebar is the elder brother of Congress leader and Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar. Tuteja, a 2003 batch IAS officer, is currently posted as the joint secretary in the state's industry and commerce department.

In its application filed in a special court in Raipur on Saturday seeking the remand of Anwar, 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.

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 (charge sheet) filed by the Income Tax Department in a Delhi court against Tuteja and others, reported PTI.

“The syndicate comprised of high-level state government officials, private persons and political executives of the state government. Tuteja was managing the affairs and was the kingpin of this illegal syndicate along with Anwar,” ED alleged.

“Huge amount of corruption was happening in the excise department and hundreds of crores of cash was being collected from every possible point of access in a distributed hierarchical manner. The syndicate, after keeping its cut, passed on the final loot for the benefit of political executives and for electioneering...,” it said.

Anwar's counsel Rahul Tyagi on Saturday claimed the action against his client seemed to be politically motivated.