The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Raipur Zonal Office, has provisionally attached properties with a deed value of ₹200 crore — estimated at over ₹1,000 crore in market value — in connection with the Chhattisgarh liquor scam, issuing three Provisional Attachment Orders (PAOs) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The agency simultaneously filed its sixth supplementary chargesheet before a special court in Raipur, bringing the total number of accused in the case to 85.

The Syndicate and Its Alleged Operations

The ED's money laundering investigation, initiated on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the state's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), allegedly uncovered a sprawling criminal network that operated between 2019 and 2023. According to the agency, the cartel was led by Anwar Dhebar and retired IAS officer Anil Tuteja, who allegedly worked in concert with senior state officials, distillery owners, and private entities.

The syndicate allegedly generated proceeds of crime exceeding ₹2,883 crore by artificially inflating procurement rates, manufacturing illegal unaccounted liquor, and extorting hefty commissions through FL-10A licences.

What the Three Attachment Orders Cover

The first order targets assets linked to Anwar Dhebar and his alleged financial manager, Vikas Agrawal, who reportedly handled ground-level commission collection. Properties valued at ₹30 crore have been attached, including assets registered in the names of Agrawal's family members, multiple plots in Dhebar City Homes in Raipur, and five land parcels allegedly held through benami shell entities.

The second order covers Hotel Westinn Goa, a premium property in Anjuna, North Goa, registered under M/s Pacifica Hotels India Private Limited. The ED stated the property was acquired for ₹110 crore entirely from proceeds of the scam. Investigators allege that unaccounted cash was physically transported to Goa at the instance of Chaitanya Baghel.

The third order freezes bank accounts, shares, and mutual funds worth ₹51 crore belonging to three FL-10A licence-holder companies, which were allegedly coerced by the cartel into remitting 50 to 60 per cent of their corporate profits directly to the syndicate.

Sixth Chargesheet: Four New Accused Named

The sixth supplementary chargesheet names four new accused: businessman Vijay Bhatia, T. Bhuneshwar Rao, cash courier Probir Sharma, and Nikhil Chandrakar. The total number of individuals arraigned in the case now stands at 85, with the ED indicating that further investigations are ongoing.

Scale and Significance of the Crackdown

This is among the largest single-phase attachment actions in the Chhattisgarh scam probe, which has been unfolding since the ED registered its money laundering case. The alleged routing of scam proceeds into hospitality assets in Goa points to a sophisticated layering operation — a pattern investigators say was designed to distance the funds from their criminal origin. Notably, this action comes as the case continues to expand in both geographic and financial scope, with properties spread across Raipur and Goa now frozen.

The ED has said further investigations are continuing, suggesting additional attachment orders and chargesheets cannot be ruled out.