The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has officially announced the attachment of assets valued at over Rs 1,000 crore in connection with the alleged Chhattisgarh liquor scam. These included a luxury hotel located in Goa, various parcels of land, and financial investments. This operation is considered one of the most significant undertaken by the agency in this ongoing case. The attachment was executed through three separate Provisional Attachment Orders issued on May 28 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

The total registered deed value of the attached assets is estimated to be around Rs 200 crore. The ED claims these properties are linked to an alleged liquor syndicate that operated in Chhattisgarh from 2019 to 2023, reportedly generating criminal proceeds exceeding Rs 2,883 crore. This alleged operation manipulated the state’s excise system.

Investigations into the Alleged Syndicate

This inquiry stems from a First Information Report (FIR) lodged by the Economic Offences Wing and Anti-Corruption Bureau in Raipur. The ED has indicated that the syndicate was allegedly led by businessman Anwar Dhebar and retired IAS officer Anil Tuteja. The agency reports that the operation received assistance from senior government officials, distillery proprietors, and private entities.

As per the allegations, the syndicate artificially inflated liquor procurement costs, facilitated the manufacturing and sale of unaccounted liquor, and unlawfully acquired commissions via FL-10A licences issued to selected firms. This manipulation enabled the illicit generation of wealth for those involved in the network.

The ED’s first attachment order involved properties, worth approximately Rs 30 crore, linked to Anwar Dhebar and his associate Vikas Agrawal. Agrawal is alleged to have acted as a financial manager for the group, collecting commissions from the distilleries and distributing funds to Dhebar. Additional properties linked to Agrawal’s family members have been marked for attachment as assets potentially linked to illicit gains.

Significant Properties and Financial Links

Among the notable assets seized is the Westinn Hotel situated in North Goa’s Anjuna area, valued at Rs 110 crore. The hotel, owned by Ms Pacifica Hotels India Private Limited, is claimed by the ED to have been purchased entirely through illicit funds derived from the liquor scam. Investigators assert that the acquisition took place using unaccounted cash that was physically transported at the direction of Chaitanya Baghel.

In addition to real estate, the ED has also frozen various bank accounts along with shares and mutual fund investments linked to three FL-10A licence holder companies: Ms Om Sai Beverages Pvt Ltd, Ms Dishita Ventures Pvt Ltd, and Ms Nexgen Power Engitech Pvt Ltd. The agency alleges that these firms were compelled to remit between fifty and sixty per cent of their profits to the aforementioned liquor syndicate, leading to assets valued at around Rs 51 crore being frozen under this initiative.

The ED has filed its sixth supplementary prosecution complaint before the Special Court in Raipur related to this case. This complaint names four additional individuals, raising the total number of accused in this money laundering investigation to eighty-five. The ED alleges that Vijay Bhatia received a 52.5 per cent benami stake in Ms Om Sai Beverages under duress, while Probir Sharma allegedly transported large amounts of cash on behalf of the syndicate.

Ongoing Investigations

The Enforcement Directorate has confirmed that the investigation continues, with ongoing efforts focused on tracing the proceeds of crime and determining the beneficiaries associated with the alleged scam. The allegations from the ED are part of a broader investigation process and are subject to judicial scrutiny.

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