Overview
- The Enforcement Directorate issued a provisional attachment order on Saturday, June 27, 2026, seizing immovable properties worth about Rs 53.28 crore, including four hotels in Guwahati and two residential flats in Andheri, Mumbai.
- Investigators say the action follows an FIR by the Assam Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Branch alleging that Prasanta Kumar Dutta and his wife amassed roughly Rs 79.01 crore in assets that far exceed their declared income and expenditure.
- The ED alleges laundering through three closely held firms—Mahamaya Estates Pvt Ltd, Ishan Commercial Pvt Ltd and Murari Commodities Pvt Ltd—with about Rs 14.74 crore reportedly moved via fictitious shareholders, Kolkata-based shell entities and circular bank transfers.
- Officials say Dutta became majority shareholder of Ishan Commercial after a 3.7 lakh share transfer post-retirement; the provisional attachment freezes the listed properties but does not decide guilt and may affect hotel operations and the family’s access to those assets.
- The probe began from a Prevention of Corruption Act FIR and is ongoing under the PMLA; the case forms part of a wider string of ED enforcement actions that aim to recover alleged proceeds of crime while legal adjudication proceeds.