Did ED seize 9 properties belonging to ex-Haryana IAS officer linked to Bhupinder Hooda?

Chandigarh, July 7 (NationPress) Taking decisive action against a disgraced former bureaucrat, the ED has provisionally seized nine properties, comprising two houses and seven apartments situated in Chandigarh, New Delhi, and Gurgaon, associated with M.L. Tayal, who previously held the position of Principal Secretary to former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

The Enforcement Directorate's intervention, executed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002, also resulted in the freezing of bank assets amounting to Rs 14.06 crore on June 30.

Tayal, a retired Indian Administrative Service officer, along with others, is currently undergoing scrutiny from the ED concerning allegations of disproportionate assets. His tenure at the Haryana Chief Minister's Office spanned from March 6, 2005, to October 31, 2009.

He also served on the Competition Commission of India from November 30, 2009, to December 31, 2014.

Between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2014, Tayal and his family reportedly accrued assets that were disproportionate to their declared income sources.

In light of these findings, the ED has investigated the financial activities, income tax returns, and stock market transactions of Tayal, Savita Tayal, and Kartik Tayal.

The investigation unveiled that over the eight-year period, the accused acquired disproportionate assets valued at Rs 14.06 crore through illicit gains stemming from corruption.

Separately, the Chandigarh zonal office of the ED executed search operations on July 4 at three suspected shell companies—Kindent Business Solutions Pvt Ltd, Rainet Technology Pvt Ltd, and Mool Business Solutions Pvt Ltd—located in Noida and Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

During these searches, numerous incriminating documents, digital devices, and electronic records were confiscated, and 116 bank accounts tied to these entities were frozen.

So far, 16 bank accounts containing over Rs 103 crore have been restrained, as per an ED statement.

The agency indicated that these companies were managed by nominal directors and were misrepresenting themselves as IT firms providing wallet-based APIs, domestic money transfers (DMT), Aadhaar-enabled payment systems (AEPS), and bill payment services.

It was determined that these companies were, in fact, fronts for laundering profits from illegal activities linked to the extensive QFX/YFX online forex and MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) scam, which deceived thousands of investors nationwide.

Each office employed between 10 to 30 staff, many of whom confessed that no legitimate work was being conducted and that they were often oblivious to the company's real operations.

While the firms claimed to serve a nationwide clientele, the ED uncovered evidence indicating that numerous clients were fabricated and existed solely on paper.

Payments amounting to crores of rupees were being processed under the names QFX, YFX, YORKERF, TLC Coin, and BotBro, all of which are currently under investigation for significant unregulated deposit and MLM fraud.

The firms' directors denied any affiliations with these scam-related entities and the funds deposited in their accounts, further raising suspicions regarding benami operations and money laundering layering activities, according to the ED.