In a significant development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Bhopal seized two high-value properties belonging to Harishankar Gurjar, a Forest Ranger in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh, in connection with a money laundering investigation.
The properties, located at Minal Residency in Bhopal, are estimated to be worth several crores of rupees.
The ED initiated the investigation after an FIR was lodged by the Lokayukta Police in Bhopal, accusing Harishankar and his wife Seema Gurjar of amassing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.
The FIR was filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and IPC Section 1860. The investigation revealed that the couple had allegedly converted proceeds from fraudulent activities into various immovable assets.
As a result, the ED attached the properties provisionally under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The attachment was later confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority under PMLA.
On April 29, 2023, the Special Court for PMLA in Bhopal convicted both Harishankar and Seema Gurjar, sentencing them to three years of rigorous imprisonment. Additionally, the court ordered the confiscation of their attached properties.
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This decision was later upheld by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, and the Supreme Court of India, in a ruling on January 15, 2025, affirmed the confiscation order, including the two newly seized properties.
As per the court's order, the ED took physical possession of the properties, marking a significant step in the ongoing investigation.
In a related development, the ED's Chandigarh zone conducted a series of raids on January 25, 2025, across several locations, including Delhi, Rohtak (Haryana), Noida, and Shamli (Uttar Pradesh), as part of its ongoing investigation into a multi-level marketing fraud orchestrated by QFX Trade Ltd.
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The company's directors—Rajender Sood, Vineet Kumar, and Santosh Kumar—along with one of the masterminds, Nawab Ali, are accused of running a fraudulent forex trading scheme. The ED launched its investigation based on multiple FIRs filed by the Himachal Pradesh Police, following complaints from defrauded investors.
The ED’s actions underscore its ongoing efforts to clamp down on financial crimes and ensure that individuals involved in illegal wealth accumulation face legal consequences.
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