The Enforcement Directorate has attached a Congress party office in Chhattisgarh apart from assets of its MLA Kawasi Lakhma, worth a total of Rs 6.15 crore, in a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged liquor scam of more than Rs 2,100 crore that took place in the state during the previous government, official sources said.
A provisional order for attaching these properties has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The attached assets include those belonging to Lakhma, his son Harish Lakhma and the Congress office building in Sukma district, the sources said.The federal agency had raided the premises of the Lakhma's in December 2024 in Raipur, Sukma and Dhamtari districts. The senior Lakhma was arrested by the ED too.
Lakhma, 72, is a six-time MLA from Konta assembly seat and has served as the excise minister in the Congress government led by former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel. Harish Lakhma is a panchayat president in Sukma.The ED said the Chhattisgarh liquor "scam" resulted in "massive loss" to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of the liquor syndicate with more than Rs 2,100 crore of illegal proceeds of crime.It has alleged that the proceeds generated from the illegal liquor trade were used to build the Congress office in Sukma.
It may be recalled that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in March this year conducted raids at multiple locations linked to Chaitanya Baghel, the son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel, in connection with the state's alleged liquor scam. During the searches, the probe agency seized some electronic gadgets and documents.Chaitanya Baghel's name came up during the ED's ongoing investigation into a money laundering case connected to the scam. Raids are currently underway at 14 locations across Chhattisgarh at premises linked to the former Chief Minister's son and some other individuals connected to the case as well.
According to a probe agency official, the ED had found that Chaitanya Baghel is also the recipient of proceeds of crime generated from the scam wherein the total proceeds amount to about Rs 2,161 crore, siphoned off via various schemes.The ED investigation has uncovered a complex network allegedly involving senior bureaucrats, politicians, and officials from the Excise Department. This syndicate is accused of operating a “parallel” excise system, wherein unaccounted liquor was sold through government-run outlets without proper documentation, thereby diverting substantial revenue away from the state.
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