The search covered the residential premises of the key persons including Saurabh Sharma, Chetan Singh Gaur, Sharad Jaiswal and Rohit Tiwari who were the suspected beneficiary of the Proceeds of Crime (POC) or have allegedly abetted in the laundering of the same
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, 31 December, 2024: Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Bhopal Zonal Office has conducted search operations on 27.12.2024 under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 at various premises situated in Bhopal, Gwalior and Jabalpur districts of Madhya Pradesh in the matter of Saurabh Sharma and others. The search covered the residential premises of the key persons including Saurabh Sharma, Chetan Singh Gaur, Sharad Jaiswal and Rohit Tiwari who were the suspected beneficiary of the Proceeds of Crime (POC) or have allegedly abetted in the laundering of the same, as per the press release issued by the ED.
ED initiated investigation on the basis of FIR registered by Lokayukta, Special Police Establishment Bhopal M.P. u/s 13(1) (b), 13(2) of PC Act 1988 (as amended in 2018) against Saurabh Sharma, retired constable, Transport Department, Bhopal, MP.
Scrutiny of said FIR revealed that Saurabh Sharma has amassed disproportionate assets worth crores of rupees in the name of his family members and associated firms/companies. During the investigation conducted under PMLA, details of bank accounts and properties were identified. Their analysis revealed that Saurabh Sharma has bought a number of properties in the name of his family members/ friends/ companies in which his close associates were directors. During the search proceedings conducted in Bhopal, Gwalior and Jabalpur at 8 premises, movable assets in the form of fixed deposits (FDs) of more than Rs 6 Crore were identified in the name of Chetan Singh Gaur, associate of Saurabh Sharma and bank balances of more than Rs. 4 Crore were found in the name of family members and companies of Saurabh Sharma.
Further, documents pertaining to immovable assets/ properties worth more than Rs. 23 Crore in the name of various companies and family members of Saurabh Sharma were found along with other incriminating documents. Search action revealed that such assets were allegedly purchased/acquired by Saurabh Sharma from illegal money obtained through corrupt practices while he was working as constable in Transport department.
Earlier, in a separate action, gold bar weighing 52 Kgs and cash of Rs. 11 Crore were seized by Income Tax Department, Bhopal from the vehicle of Chetan Singh Gaur, a close associate of Saurabh Sharma. Further investigation is under progress.
