Somatirtha Purohit

The Directorate of Enforcement is a multi-disciplinary organisation mandated with the investigation of offence of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws. 

As per a report published by ANI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over the last eight years has carried out 3,010 raids and attached proceeds of crime worth Rs 99,356 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Here we bring you the most important raids by ED in 2022.

National Herald Case – Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi

National Herald cases is one of the high-profile cases which is being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate. The case was filed by Indian economist and politician Subramanian Swamy against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, their companies, and associated persons in 2013.

On August 2, ED carried out raids at 12 locations in the National capital of India. Following the investigation, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were quizzed several times. The case pertains to the alleged financial irregularities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Congress workers staged protests in several parts of india opposing the ED's questioning. The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on August 5 took out a protest march to Raj Bhavan against the price hike of essential commodities and unemployment. The protest was termed by BJP leader Prithiviraj Harichandan as a diversion to give protection to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi on the National Herald case.

SSC recruitment case – Partha Chatterjee

The Enforcement Directorate on July arrested former West Bengal Industries and Commerce Minister and senior Trinamool Congress leader, Partha Chatterjee, in connection with irregularities in recruitment to the West Bengal School Service Commission.

The arrest of Chatterjee was followed by the recovery of Rs 21 crore cash and jewellery from a close aide of former West Bengal minister, Arpita Mukherjee. 

After the incident, the Trinamool Congress distanced itself from the case by removing him from all his ministerial responsibilities and suspending him from the party.

However, the former TMC leader denied his involvement in the multi-crore West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) scam. He asserted that the money does not belong to him.

On December 13, Partha Chatterjee moved to Kolkata court seeking deletion of his reference in the supplementary charge sheet of ED.

Delhi money laundering case – Satyendar Jain

The Enforcement Directorate on May 30, arrested Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain in a money-laundering case. Over Rs 2 crore in cash and gold weighing Rs 1.8 kg were seized by ED after raids on the AAP leader and his associates' property in money laundering case.

The ED had provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore belonging to companies beneficially owned and controlled by Jain on March 31, 2022. ED also quizzed Satyendar Jain’s wife Poonam Jain in connection with the alleged money laundering case.

The Delhi HC on December 12, issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on bail pleas filed by Aam Aadmi Party Minister Satyendar Jain's co-accused Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain in connection with the money laundering case.

A single-judge bench Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma has listed the matter for the next hearing on December 20 as even jailed AAP Minister's bail application is listed before the court for the same date.

Sand Mining Case – Bhupinder Singh Honey

The Enforcement Directorate on February 3 arrested Bhupinder Singh Honey, nephew of former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi in an alleged money laundering case linked to illegal sand mining.

The agency reportedly seized Rs 10 crore, gold worth over Rs 21 lakh after conducting raid on Honey’s property.

According to sources, Honey was summoned by ED several times after the agency raids his property on January 18, but the former was evading the summons.

The directorate filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognizance of a Punjab Police (Rahon police station, SBS Nagar) FIR of 2018 that pressed charges under various sections of the IPC and the Mines and Minerals (Regulation of Development) Act, 1957, to probe the allegations.

This was one of the biggest raids of 2022 even the former Punjab CM was also questioned by the ED in connection with alleged illegal sand mining case. 

Jharkhand Mining case – IAS Pooja Singhal

ED conducted raid on the property of IAS Pooja Singhal, a close aide of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren in a money laundering case linked to the alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds in the state's Khunti and Chatra districts.

A day after being arrested in a PMLA case, Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal was suspended from the Indian Administrative Services (IAS).

Cash amounting to around Rs 19 crore was recovered in the raids by the ED. ED had also raided Ranchi's Pulse Hospital, owned by her husband Abhishek Jha.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was questioned by the ED for over nine-and-half-hours on November 17 in connection with the alleged illegal mining case.

Chinese Visa case - Karti Chidambaram

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, son of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram was booked by ED in a money laundering case connected with the Chinese Visa case. 

The ED had also filed a PMLA case against the Congress MP’s close aide S Bhaskararaman, and others in connection with the alleged scam, which facilitated project visas for Chinese nationals for a power project of the Vedanta group in Punjab in return for bribes when his father P Chidambaram was the Union Home Minister during the Congress regime.

According to the FIR, a Mansa (Punjab)-based private firm, Talwandi Sabo Power Limited, took the help of a middleman and allegedly paid Rs 50 lakh to get the visa issued for Chinese nationals to complete a project before the deadline.

Patra Chawl Scam – Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on August 1 in connection with the prevention of a money laundering case pertaining to the Rs 1,034 crore Patra chawl land scam case.

Earlier, in April, the ED attached eight plots of land belonging to Raut and his family at Alibaug in Raigad district and a flat in a 32-storeyed building in Dadar east, Mumbai.

Property worth Rs 9 crore of Raut's associate Pravin Raut and assets worth Rs 2 crore belonging to Varsha Raut, the wife of Sanjay Raut, were attached by the ED.

Pravin had eight parcels of land in Alibaug and a flat registered in the name of Varsha Raut which were attached. The ED had arrested Pravin in connection with the matter.

The Directorate has also grilled Varsha Raut, Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s wife in connection with the Prevention of Money Laundering case pertaining to Patra Chawl land scam case.

Yes Bank – DHFL Fraud case

ED has arrested Sanjay Chhabria and Avinash Bhosale in June and on August 3 has attached assets totaling Rs 415 crore in Yes Bank- DHFL Fraud case. 

Out of the total, Rs 251 crore assets were of Sanjay Chhabria and Rs 164 crore of Avinash Bhosale.

According to the charge sheet, the attached assets of Sanjay Chhabria are in the form of land located in Santacruz, Mumbai worth Rs 116.5 crore, 25 per cent equity shares of Chhabria's company held in the land parcel, located at Bengaluru worth Rs 115 Crore, a flat located at Santacruz, Mumbai worth Rs 3 crore, profit receivable from hotel belonging to Chhabria located at Delhi Airport worth Rs 13.67 crore and three high-end luxury cars worth Rs 3.10 crore.

The assets of Avinash Bhosale were in the form of a duplex flat belonging to Bhosale, located in Mumbai worth Rs 102.8 crore, one land parcel located at Pune worth Rs 14.65 crore, one more land parcel located at Pune worth Rs 29.24 crore, a land parcel located at Nagpur worth Rs 15.52 crore and another portion of land located at Nagpur to the extent of Rs 1.45 crore.

Nawab Malik

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested former Maharashtra cabinet minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik in a money laundering case on February 23.

The former minister was arrested in connection with a case of alleged money laundering and involvement in terror funding linked to a land deal in 1999 with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim’s sister, Haseena Parkar alias Haseena Aapa.

ED on April 13 provisionally attached five properties belonging to Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik, his family members, and his firms Solidus Investments Pvt. Ltd.

These include the sprawling Goawala Compound, a commercial unit, and three flats - all in Kurla suburb, two residential flats in Bandra west, and 148 acres of agricultural land parcels in Osmanabad district.

Malik is in ED custody. On December 13, the Bombay High Court refused to grant urgent hearing on a bail plea filed by former Maharashtra cabinet minister.

Odisha sextortion case – Archana Nag

ED on Tuesday arrested Archana Nag, accused of blackmailing prominent people of Odisha while running a sex racket, under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). 

Archana Nag was arrested on October 7 by Odisha police following by FIR filed by Odia filmmaker Akshay Parija. 

On October 21, Nag’s husband Jagabandhu Chand was also arrested from his Satya Vihar residence in Bhubaneswar.

The couple is accused of amassing over Rs 30 crore by blackmailing high-profile people, including politicians, businessmen and filmmakers using sexually explicit videos. 

However, the ED has so far traced Rs 2.5 crore deposited in the accounts of Archana and Jagabandhu.

Nag was produced before the District and Session court in Bhubaneswar on December 5. While being taken out of the court, Nag broke her silence and said that she was arrested arbitrarily and her family members are put under house arrest.

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