ED Seizes Rs 5.39 Crore in Fresh Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam Raids

Overview

• The Enforcement Directorate, which searched 13 sites on April 30 across Raipur, Durg/Bhilai and Bilaspur, seized Rs 53 lakh in cash and 3.23 kg of gold worth about Rs 4.86 crore for a total of roughly Rs 5.39 crore.
• The premises belonged to liquor traders, chartered accountants, businesspeople and companies suspected of handling or hiding illicit liquor money.
• Officers also took documents and digital devices that are now under forensic review, and the agency said further attachments or prosecution complaints will follow as warranted by the findings.
• To date, the ED has filed six chargesheets naming 81 accused and arrested nine people, including senior officials and a former excise minister.
• Investigators value the alleged proceeds at Rs 2,883 crore from a scheme that ran from 2019 to 2022, with about Rs 380 crore in assets frozen across six orders now moving through court review.