ED Seized Bank Amount worth Rs.11.88 Crore in Illegal Mining Case against Jharkhand CM’s aide

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has seized cash amounting to Rs. 11.88 Crore lying in 37 bank accounts belonging to Pankaj Mishra, Dahoo Yadav and their associates under the Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in the illegal mining case.

Earlier, on July 8,2022, the ED searched 19 places in Sahibganj, Barhet, Rajmahal, Mirza Chauki, and Barharwa. These searches led to the discovery of numerous incriminating documents and Rs 5.34 Crore in unaccounted cash. Five unlawful stone crushers that were being operated from the Site as well as five illegal gun cartridges were also found by ED during this search operation. The evidence gathered during the course of the investigation—including testimony from various people, digital evidences, and documents—showed that the money/bank balance that was confiscated came from the widespread illicit mining that takes place in Sahibganj, including in the surrounding forest. Additionally, a trail of 100 crore rupees worth of unlawful mining-related proceeds of crime has been found and is being investigated.

Earlier in May 2022, searches at 36 locations related to the MNREGA Scam were carried out in accordance with the PMLA, leading to the seizure of Rs 19.76 Crore in cash. The homes of Pooja Singhal, IAS, and her colleagues were among the places that were searched. The investigation revealed that the majority of the cash seized in this case came from illegal mining and belonged to senior bureaucrats and politicians. Other evidence gathered during the course of the investigation, such as that found during searches and statements from various people, supported this conclusion. Suman Kumar, CA, and Pooja Singhal, who were both detained in connection with this case, are now in judicial custody. This case has a complaint from the prosecution.

Thus, the ED has seized a total of Rs 36.58 Crore in cash and bank balance that were obtained illegally from mining and other sources.

Further investigation is in progress.