Shimla, April 24 (IANS) In the Rs 387-crore fake degree scam involving Manav Bharti University in Himachal Pradesh, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) obtained an order for confiscation of two properties belonging to the accused Mandeep Rana, who has been declared a Fugitive Economic Offender, an official said on Friday.

The ED’s Shimla Sub-Zonal Office, obtained the order for confiscation on April 23 from the Special Court (PMLA).

The ED initiated investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, based on three FIRs registered at Dharampur Police Station in Solan district under various Sections of the IPC, 1860 (scheduled offences under the PMLA), in connection with a large-scale fake degree scam involving Manav Bharti University and its associated entities.

The ED investigation revealed that Raj Kumar Rana, in criminal conspiracy with the co-accused, including his wife Ashoni Kanwar and son Mandeep Rana, orchestrated a well-organised racket for selling fake degrees through agents and intermediaries.

These fraudulent degrees were issued in the name of Manav Bharti University in Solan in exchange for money from students, the ED said.

“The magnitude of the fraud is alarming, with proceeds of crime quantified at nearly Rs 387 crore. This is a very severe financial offence where the accused played with the careers, aspirations and futures of countless young individuals, placing them at severe academic and professional risk for petty financial gains,” the ED added.

The proceeds of crime were systematically layered and laundered through a network of transactions and subsequently invested in acquisition of movable and immovable properties across multiple states in the names of the accused persons and their related entities, it said.

The ED has attached assets worth nearly Rs 200 crore till date, all of which have been confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority under the PMLA.

“However, in flagrant and calculated defiance of the judicial process, Mandeep Rana willfully disregarded and failed to comply with the summons issued by the court, consciously choosing to evade the due process of law,” the ED said.

“Despite repeated summons and exhaustive, sustained efforts undertaken by the ED to secure his presence, the accused has deliberately and persistently refused to join the investigation or submit to the jurisdiction of Indian courts. Such conduct constitutes a brazen and intentional obstruction of justice. Consequently, stringent coercive proceedings were compelled to be initiated against him in accordance with law,” the central agency added.

–IANS

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