New Delhi, Feb 13 (UNI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Patna Zonal Office, on Friday said it has provisionally attached immovable property worth Rs 17,35,880 in connection with a case involving Sadre Alam, then Chief General Manager and Regional Officer of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Patna.
The provisional attachment order has been issued in connection with the alleged acquisition of disproportionate assets and laundering of proceeds of crime by Alam. The attached asset is agricultural land registered in his name.
The ED initiated its investigation based on an FIR registered by the CBI, ACB, Patna, under Sections 7 and 8 and Section 13(1)(b) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Alam.
The FIR alleged that he had acquired assets in his own name that were disproportionate to his known sources of income. It was further alleged that assets worth approximately Rs 89,09,713 were acquired between July 2021 and September 2022.
According to the ED, its investigation revealed that the proceeds of crime generated through alleged illegal activities were laundered through a complex money trail. Large amounts of cash were deposited into bank accounts linked to Alam and subsequently routed through multiple layers of bank transfers.
The agency stated that Alam failed to provide any valid explanation or documentary evidence regarding the source of Rs 71,01,250 in cash recovered from his residence during a CBI search operation.
The total proceeds of crime in the case have been quantified at Rs 89,09,713, of which Rs 71,01,250 in cash and jewellery has already been seized by the CBI, ACB, Patna. The remaining amount of Rs 17,35,880 has now been provisionally attached in the form of agricultural land under Section 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
Further investigation in the matter is ongoing.
