New Delhi, July 20 (UNI) The Special Court, Ranchi, on Wednesday took cognizance of the charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against IAS officer Pooja Singhal and others. The supplementary charge sheet was filed against Singhal, Abhishek Jha, Jai Kishore Chaudhary, Shashi Prakash, R.K. Jain, and CA Suman Kumar.
Earlier, the ED had arrested Kumar on May 7, and Singhal on May 11 under the provisions of PMLA. The arrest was preceded by extensive search operations carried out on May 6 at 27 different premises located in Ranchi, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Faridabad, Gurugram, and Muzaffarpur.
During the search proceedings, Rs 19.76 crore in cash, four vehicles including two high-end cars (Jaguar F Pace and Toyota Fortuner), various incriminating documents, and digital devices were seized.
The ED initiated the money laundering investigation on the basis of 16 FIRs registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and sections 11, 13(2), and 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, by the Jharkhand Police after the audit team found embezzlement of Rs 18.06 crore (Proceeds of crime in this case) in the work done under MGNREGA in Khunti district.
The ED learned during the investigation that a commission was paid to Singhal who was then Deputy Commissioner of Khunti district by Ram Binod Sinha and other engineers for sanctioning of funds.
Singhal and her husband Jha deposited huge amounts of cash in their bank accounts during the period of the scheduled offense which was subsequently utilized for acquiring various properties.
Their chartered accountant Kumar was found to be involved in the collection of money on behalf of Singhal.
The accused persons have also invested huge proceeds of the crime of Singhal in properties. The accused persons were therefore found to be involved in the activity connected with the “proceeds of crime” generated as a result of criminal activity related to the scheduled offense and thereby have committed offenses under section 3 of PMLA.
Earlier in the case, attachment to the tune of Rs 4.28 crore was done by the ED, which was subsequently confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority.
