ED: Chhattisgarh coal ‘cartel’ made ₹2-3 crore daily from ‘illegal levy’ | India News – Times of India
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RAIPUR: The Enforcement Directorate has revealed that the searches it conducted recently in Chhattisgarh under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) pertained to a scam in which an “illegal levy” of Rs 25 was being extorted per tonne of coal transported in the state. A “cartel” of senior bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians and middlemen, controlled this racket, said the central agency, estimating that around Rs 2-3 crore was generated this way daily.
Those arrested are IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi and businessmen Sunil Agrawal and Laxmikant Tiwari, who are currently in ED custody. According to an ED statement issued late Friday, the alleged kingpin of this “scam” is businessman Suryakant Tiwari, who, along with his associates, criminally conspired to run a parallel system of extorting illegal levy on coal and were involved in illegal and unaccounted cash movement, the ED said.
“The proceeds of the crime were being used for investing in benami assets, bribing officials to influence officials and also used by or on behalf of political executives of the state,” the release said.
In an application filed before a special PMLA court seeking custody of the three accused, including an IAS officer, the ED has given a description of the modus operandi of the alleged scam.
The agency initiated an investigation based on an FIR lodged by the Income Tax department for illegal extortion besides destruction of evidence, the release said.
During the searches, Suryakant Tiwari was found on the run and Raigarh collector Ranu Sahu was not present at her residence, the ED statement said, adding that the agency seized unaccounted cash of Rs 4. 5 crore, besides gold, bullion and other valuables worth around Rs 2 crore. As per the release, the ED investigation revealed that extortion of illegal coal levy became rampant after the director for geology and mining issued a notification in July 2020 that modified the earlier online process of e-permit for transportation of coal from mines to the users into the issuance of manual NOC and no standard operating procedure was circulated.
It said the coal delivery order (CDO) is issued in favour of the buyer by the mining company and buyers are required to deposit an earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 500 per metric tonne with the mining company and are required to lift coal within 45 days. The notification forced mining companies to apply to the mining officer for NOC for the issuance of e-permit.
Without NOC, the ED said an e-permit for coal transportation cannot be issued, leading to the non-execution of the delivery order issued by the mining company. If the CDO is not executed within 45 days, it lapses and the EMD paid by the buyer is forfeited by the company.
Those arrested are IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi and businessmen Sunil Agrawal and Laxmikant Tiwari, who are currently in ED custody. According to an ED statement issued late Friday, the alleged kingpin of this “scam” is businessman Suryakant Tiwari, who, along with his associates, criminally conspired to run a parallel system of extorting illegal levy on coal and were involved in illegal and unaccounted cash movement, the ED said.
“The proceeds of the crime were being used for investing in benami assets, bribing officials to influence officials and also used by or on behalf of political executives of the state,” the release said.
In an application filed before a special PMLA court seeking custody of the three accused, including an IAS officer, the ED has given a description of the modus operandi of the alleged scam.
The agency initiated an investigation based on an FIR lodged by the Income Tax department for illegal extortion besides destruction of evidence, the release said.
During the searches, Suryakant Tiwari was found on the run and Raigarh collector Ranu Sahu was not present at her residence, the ED statement said, adding that the agency seized unaccounted cash of Rs 4. 5 crore, besides gold, bullion and other valuables worth around Rs 2 crore. As per the release, the ED investigation revealed that extortion of illegal coal levy became rampant after the director for geology and mining issued a notification in July 2020 that modified the earlier online process of e-permit for transportation of coal from mines to the users into the issuance of manual NOC and no standard operating procedure was circulated.
It said the coal delivery order (CDO) is issued in favour of the buyer by the mining company and buyers are required to deposit an earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 500 per metric tonne with the mining company and are required to lift coal within 45 days. The notification forced mining companies to apply to the mining officer for NOC for the issuance of e-permit.
Without NOC, the ED said an e-permit for coal transportation cannot be issued, leading to the non-execution of the delivery order issued by the mining company. If the CDO is not executed within 45 days, it lapses and the EMD paid by the buyer is forfeited by the company.
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