A provisional order for attachment of the assets of the officer has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The ED filed the complaint under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. (ED/Twitter)
Properties and fixed deposits worth ₹1.62 crore of an ex-Kerala cadre IAS officer have been attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), in a case of alleged possession of disproportionate assets, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Wednesday, 14 December.
A provisional order for attachment of the assets of the officer, TO Sooraj, has been issued under the anti-money laundering law, the ED said.
The properties attached include vacant land located in Kerala, fixed deposits, bank balances, and investment in shares held in the name of the officer, as well as in the name of his family members, the federal agency said.
Sooraj began his service with the Kerala government in 1980 as a ranger in the Forest Department. In 1994, he became an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. He was serving as Public Works Secretary at the time of his arrest in 2014.
The money-laundering case stems from a chargesheet filed by the Kerala Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, which charged him for amassing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.
According to the ED, the probe found that Sooraj had purchased several properties, as well as vehicles, in the name of his wife and children.
The properties attached includes vacant land situated in Kerala, Fixed Deposits, bank balance and investment in shares, held in his name as well purchased / held in the name of his family members.
— ED (@dir_ed) December 14, 2022
“Further, it was also found that he had purchased a vehicle as ‘benami’ in the name of his associate. TO Sooraj utilised the illegitimate money to acquire several properties in the name of his family members and associates,” the agency stated.
The ED has earlier attached other assets in the case and with the latest action, the figure stands at ₹10.43 crore.
In a tweet on Wednesday, the ED also announced that it had carried out search operations on 9 December at various places in Bengaluru, Pune, and Noida, and has frozen over ₹50 crore following an investigation into the misuse of the Matrix Partners Fund app and other related apps.
ED carried out search operations under the PMLA, 2002 on 09.12.2022 at various places in Bengaluru, Pune and Noida, in respect to investigations of mis-use of Matrix Partners Fund (MPF) App and other related Apps. And freezed an amount of Rs.51.11 Crore.
— ED (@dir_ed) December 14, 2022
(With PTI Inputs)
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