ED attaches ₹2.69 crore properties in Arunachal highway land scam
Synopsis
The ED has traced a near-immediate money trail — compensation received one day, land purchased the next — in an Arunachal Pradesh highway scam where ₹3.25 crore of the ₹3.36 crore paid to one beneficiary was found to be excess or ineligible. With more beneficiaries under scrutiny, this attachment may be only the opening move.
Key Takeaways
The Enforcement Directorate provisionally attached properties worth ₹2.69 crore belonging to Nyakpo Yangfo under the PMLA, 2002 on 14 August 2025 .
The attached assets include land at Taraso village (7,950 sq m, ₹1.59 crore) and land with two fish ponds at Chessa village (3,440 sq m, ₹1.10 crore) in Papum Pare district .
Yangfo received total land compensation of ₹3.36 crore under the Lada-Sarli Frontier Highway Project ; about ₹3.25 crore was found excess or ineligible.
Compensation was converted to land purchases within 24 hours on two separate occasions in June and July 2025 .
The case originated from an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) FIR; investigation into other beneficiaries is continuing.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached properties worth ₹2.69 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with alleged irregularities in the assessment and disbursement of land acquisition compensation linked to a highway project in Arunachal Pradesh. The action was announced on 14 August 2025 by the central probe agency.
Properties Attached
The ED's Itanagar Sub-Zonal office provisionally attached two immovable properties belonging to Nyakpo Yangfo in Papum Pare district of Arunachal Pradesh. The first is land measuring 7,950 square metres at Taraso village, valued at ₹1.59 crore. The second comprises land measuring 3,440 square metres along with two fish ponds at Chessa village, valued at ₹1.10 crore. Both properties fall within the Balijan Circle of Papum Pare district.
The Lada-Sarli Highway Scam
The ED initiated its investigation based on an FIR registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Itanagar, which alleged large-scale irregularities and misappropriation of public funds in the assessment, sanction, and disbursement of land acquisition compensation under Package IV and V of the Lada-Sarli Frontier Highway Project. According to the agency, Yangfo received total compensation aggregating to ₹3.36 crore under both packages.
A subsequent Fact-Finding Committee and re-verification exercise identified approximately ₹3.25 crore as excess or ineligible compensation. The inflated claims were reportedly attributable to bamboo, ordinary trees, and an SPT building that were found not to exist during physical verification on the ground.
The Money Trail
Investigators say the financial pattern was swift and direct. After receiving compensation of ₹1.89 crore on 5 June 2025, Yangfo transferred ₹1.59 crore the very next day — 6 June 2025 — towards the purchase of land at Taraso village. Similarly, following receipt of a further ₹1.46 crore on 22 July 2025, a transfer of ₹1.10 crore was made on 23 July 2025 for the Chessa village property and fish ponds. The ED says this establishes a direct and identifiable money trail between the proceeds of crime and the acquisition of the attached properties.
Investigation Ongoing
The ED has confirmed that probe into other beneficiaries who allegedly received excess or ineligible compensation under the Lada-Sarli Frontier Highway Project remains underway. This suggests the current attachment may be the first in a series of enforcement actions connected to the scam. This comes amid a broader national push by the ED to pursue PMLA cases linked to public infrastructure projects, where compensation fraud has emerged as a recurring vulnerability.
Point of View
Land purchased the next, on two separate occasions. That pattern points less to opportunistic fraud and more to a pre-arranged conversion plan, raising questions about whether the verification lapses were systemic or enabled. With ₹3.25 crore of a single beneficiary's ₹3.36 crore payout deemed ineligible, the scale of potential exposure across all beneficiaries of Packages IV and V could be substantial. The ACB-to-ED handoff also signals that state-level anti-corruption action alone was insufficient — a recurring dynamic in infrastructure compensation cases across the Northeast.
NationPress
15 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What properties has the ED attached in the Arunachal Pradesh highway case?
The ED has provisionally attached two properties belonging to Nyakpo Yangfo: land measuring 7,950 square metres at Taraso village (valued at ₹1.59 crore) and land measuring 3,440 square metres with two fish ponds at Chessa village (valued at ₹1.10 crore), both in Papum Pare district of Arunachal Pradesh. The total attachment value is ₹2.69 crore.
What is the Lada-Sarli Frontier Highway Project scam?
The scam involves alleged large-scale irregularities in the assessment and disbursement of land acquisition compensation under Package IV and V of the Lada-Sarli Frontier Highway Project in Arunachal Pradesh. A Fact-Finding Committee found that claims for bamboo, trees, and a building were fabricated, with around ₹3.25 crore identified as excess or ineligible compensation paid to one beneficiary alone.
How did the ED establish the money laundering link?
The ED traced a direct money trail showing that Nyakpo Yangfo transferred the bulk of each compensation instalment into land purchases within 24 hours of receipt — ₹1.59 crore on 6 June 2025 (the day after receiving ₹1.89 crore) and ₹1.10 crore on 23 July 2025 (the day after receiving ₹1.46 crore). This pattern established a direct link between alleged proceeds of crime and the attached properties.
Who else is under investigation in this case?
The ED has confirmed that investigation into other beneficiaries who allegedly received excess or ineligible compensation under the Lada-Sarli Frontier Highway Project is ongoing. The original ACB FIR named various government officials and private beneficiaries.
Under which law has the ED acted in this case?
The ED has acted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, which empowers it to provisionally attach properties believed to represent proceeds of crime. The action follows an FIR by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in Itanagar, which triggered the ED's parallel money laundering investigation.
