Guwahati, March 9 (IANS) The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Guwahati Zonal Office, has provisionally attached six immovable properties worth Rs 5.64 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with a disproportionate assets case against Indreswar Kalita, an IAS officer and former Secretary to the Assam government in the Excise Department, officials said on Monday.

The ED initiated its investigation based on an FIR registered by the Chief Minister’s Special Vigilance Cell (CMSVC), Guwahati, against Kalita under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, for allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

According to the chargesheet filed by the CMSVC, during the check period from March 1, 2000, to December 31, 2018, Kalita amassed assets worth Rs 5.64 crore that were disproportionate to his known income.

The assets accounted for 131.12 per cent more than his legitimate earnings during the period under scrutiny.

The ED investigation revealed that Kalita acquired several immovable properties either in his own name or in the names of his wife and other family members who had no corresponding income sources.

Officials said this was done to conceal the actual beneficial ownership and the origin of the funds used to purchase the properties.

Investigators also found that the properties were purchased by deliberately understating the consideration amount in the registered sale deeds to hide the actual cash deployed in the transactions.

Further probe revealed that Kalita constructed a G+4 commercial-cum-residential building between 2015 and 2018 through a partnership firm formed with his wife and a relative, who allegedly acted only as a namesake partner without any financial risk or income.

The building was constructed at an estimated cost of around Rs 4.46 crore.

The ED said the property now generates substantial monthly rental income, which has been used to repay bank loans, thereby integrating the alleged proceeds of crime into the legitimate financial system.

Investigators also detected large unexplained cash deposits of Rs 15.24 lakh in Kalita’s bank account between 2006 and 2018, and Rs 16.92 lakh in his wife’s account between 2012 and 2018, indicating possible layering and utilisation of illicit funds.

–IANS

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