ED attaches assets worth Rs 71.99L in money laundering case

New Delhi, April 4 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it has attached movable as well as immovable assets worth Rs 71.99 lakh belonging to Khageswar Panda, the former Assistant Civil Supplies Officer in the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Department in Odisha government, and others.

The case relates to money laundering which involved a predicate offence of possession of disproportionate assets, an official said.

The ED had lodged a case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the basis of the FIR registered at an Odisha police station, and a chargesheet was filed under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act against Panda.

"Investigation under PMLA revealed that Panda acquired proceeds of crime (PoC) to the tune of Rs 1.19 crore through commission of schedule offence, concealed it and projected the PoC as untainted. The properties acquired by the accused persons and their family members have been attached under PMLA, 2002," the ED said.

atk/pgh