Raipur, Dec 30 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate has submitted a supplementary prosecution complaint that outlines a carefully orchestrated liquor scam, which has resulted in criminal proceeds totaling around Rs 2883 crore between 2019 and 2023.

This investigation reveals a potent criminal organization that systematically exploited the state’s excise regulations through various illicit means to misappropriate vast sums of money.

As per the probe, the latest complaint, filed on December 26, includes 59 additional individuals, raising the total accused count to 81. The list features high-ranking officials, including retired IAS officer Anil Tuteja, former Excise Commissioner Niranjan Das, and ITS officer Arun Pati Tripathi, who previously managed the state marketing corporation. Approximately 30 field-level excise officials are also implicated for accepting fixed commissions to facilitate illegal sales.

Prominent political figures are heavily involved, with former Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma, Chaitanya Baghel (son of the former Chief Minister), and Saumya Chaurasia, a deputy secretary in the Chief Minister's office alleged to have coordinated cash handling and officer placements, all listed for endorsing policies and funneling illicit funds into personal enterprises.

The scheme operated through four principal methods: “illegal commissions” on sanctioned liquor sales by inflating prices payable by the state, a parallel off-the-books operation for “selling unaccounted country liquor” utilizing counterfeit holograms and cash-purchased bottles evading taxation.

Additionally, there were annual “cartel payments” from distillers to maintain market control and licenses, and extortion via a newly introduced license category that diverted significant profits from foreign liquor producers to the syndicate, as stated by the investigative agency.

Private entities are critical to this operation, led by Anwar Dhebar and Arvind Singh, with distilleries and merchants actively engaged in unreported production and commission payments, backed by facilitators supplying counterfeit holograms and collecting cash, according to the investigation.

Nine key individuals have been apprehended under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, including Anil Tuteja, Arvind Singh, Trilok Singh Dhillon, Anwar Dhebar, Arun Pati Tripathi, Kawasi Lakhma, Chaitanya Baghel, Saumya Chaurasia, and Niranjan Das, although some are currently out on bail, as reported by the agency.

The agency has provisionally seized assets valued at Rs 382.32 crore, encompassing over a thousand properties, including luxurious hotels and extensive holdings linked to the implicated families and organizations.

The inquiry is ongoing, further revealing the extensive nature of this conspiracy that has penetrated the highest echelons of governance and politics, resulting in significant losses to public revenue while enriching a select group of influential individuals, as asserted by the agency.