Jharkhand PMLA Case: ED Seizes Rs 3 Crore In Raids Against Suspended IAS Officer Pooja Singhal

Suspended IAS officer Pooja Singhal amassed huge wealth disproportionate to her known sources of income, the ED said as it initiated a money laundering investigation.

IAS Pooja Singhal was arrested by the ED on May 11, 2022 and was granted granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in January this year. ( Image Source :PTI )

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday seized a cash amount of Rs 3 crores allegedly linked to suspended IAS officer Pooja Singhal during a raid at the premises of one Md. Ezhar Ansari at Hazaribagh. Ezhar Ansari controls a group of private companies, the central agency informed.

"The raid was conducted to investigate anomalies in the captive coal consumption case. In this regard, raids were also carried out against former coal and sand in-charge of the Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation (JSMDC) Ashok Kumar Singh," news agency ANI reported citing sources.

According to news agency PTI, officials said that wads of cash, largely in the denomination of Rs 500 and a few Rs 2,000 notes, were seized from the premises of Mohammed E Ansari.

The agency recovered the cash while raids were being carried out in an ongoing money laundering investigation against Singhal.

Pooja Singhal, a 2000-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, was arrested on May 11, 2022, on money laundering charges linked to alleged irregularities in the MGNREGA scheme.

In February, the Supreme Court granted the suspended officer interim bail for a period of two months for her to look after her ailing daughter.

The ED is also probing her role in connection with alleged irregularities in the mining sector of the state as part of a second case filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

A prosecution complaint was filed against her on July 5, 2022. The evidence about the corrupt practices was shared with the Jharkhand government under section 66 (2) of the PMLA for considering taking action under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Singhal and others.

The ED had initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by the Jharkhand police and Vigilance Bureau Jharkhand.

"Investigation revealed that Proceeds of Crime (POC) generated from the MNREGA scam in form of commission was deposited in different bank accounts belonging to Pooja Singhal and her relatives. The said POC was mixed and layered with the other unaccounted money generated by Singhal, by misusing her official position," the ED stated earlier, as per news agency IANS.

The ED has said that initially the POC was generated from the MNREGA scam only, which was subsequently intermixed with other unaccounted funds generated from the corrupt practices of Pooja Singhal. These funds were layered as investments and further funds were generated from these funds, both as legitimate profit as well as by further infusion of POC.

"By this modus-operandi, Singhal amassed huge wealth disproportionate to her known sources of income and source of funds invested in these immovable properties were primarily from the unaccounted cash profits generated from these POC and therefore termed as POC," the ED stated.