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Recipient of Proceeds of Crime: ED Raids Premises of Bhupesh Baghel’s Son in Chhattisgarh Liquor ‘Scam’ Case

Ex-Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel
Photo : PTI

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on Monday raided the premises linked to the son of former Chhattisgarh chief minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel and others in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to liquor scam. The agency stated the premises of Chaitanya Baghel in Bhillai and others in the state are being searched under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
ED had earlier said the Chhattisgarh liquor “scam” resulted in a “massive loss” to the state exchequer and the liquor syndicate earned over Rs 2,161 crore of proceeds of crime. Earlier, the probe agency had arrested a number of persons, including state government bureaucrats and businessmen, in this case.

According to a statement of the agency, the searche of premises is related to ex-CM Bhupesh Baghel including the residence of his son Chaitanya Baghel and also close associates of Chaitanya Baghel s/o Bhupesh Baghel and Laxmi Narayan Bansal@Pappu Bansal.

ED has made a sensational claim Chaitnya Baghel is recipient of proceeds of crime generated from liquor scam wherein total proceeds of crime is around Rs 2, 161 crores and searches were being conducted at 14 premises linked to him and others.

Reacting to this, the office of Bhupesh Baghel shared a post on X and said, “When the false case going on for seven years was dismissed in the court, today the guests of ED have entered the Bhilai residence of former Chief Minister, Congress General Secretary Bhupesh Baghel this morning. If someone is trying to stop Congress in Punjab through this conspiracy, then it is a misunderstanding. “

Chhattisgarh Excise ‘Scam’

The ED’s probe in the alleged Chhattisgarh excise scam has revealed that a liquor syndicate, comprising of Anwar Dhebar, Anil Tuteja & others, was operating in the state of Chhattisgarh. The Proceeds of Crime (POC) generated through this scam has been estimated to be around Rs 2,161 Crore.
ED investigation had revealed that Kawasi Lakhma used to receive a substantial amount in cash on a monthly basis out of POC generated from the liquor scam. As per sources, the ED investigation in the liquor scam, which ran between 2019 to 2022, revealed that POC was generated as illegal commission which was generated in multiple ways:
PART-A Commission: Bribe was collected from the distillers per ‘Case’ of liquor procured from them by the CSMCL i.e. State body for purchase and sale of liquor.
PART-B Kacha liquor sale: Sale of unaccounted “kacha off-the-books” Country Liquor. In this case, not even a single rupee reached the State Exchequer and all the sale proceeds were pocketed by the Syndicate.
The illegal liquor was sold from State-run shops only.

 

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