Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Guwahati Zonal Office has provisionally attached six immovable properties amounting to Rs. 5.64 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering
Act (PMLA), 2002 in an investigation related to a disproportionate assets case against Indreswar Kalita, the then Secretary to the Assam Excise Department.
ED initiated investigation on the basis of FIR registered by Assam CM’s Special Vigilance Cell (CMSVC) against Indreswar Kalita under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 for possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. The chargesheet filed by CMSVC disclosed that during the check period from March 1, 2000 to December 31, 2018, Indreswar Kalita possessed assets
disproportionate to his known sources of income to the tune of Rs. 5.64 Crore, constituting 131.12 per cent of his known income during the check period.
PMLA investigation by ED revealed that Indreswar Kalita acquired several immovable properties, either in his own name or in the names of his wife and other family members who did not have corresponding income sources. This was done to obscure the true beneficial ownership and origin of
funds. The said properties were purchased by deliberately understating the consideration amounts in registered sale deeds to conceal the actual cash deployment.
ED investigation further revealed that Indreswar Kalita constructed a G+4 commercial-cum-residential building, through a sham partnership firm with his wife and a relative (a mere namesake partner
bearing no financial risk or income) as partners, during the period 2015–2018, at a cost of Rs. 4.46 crore, thereby legitimising the proceeds of crime through the construction project. Postconstruction, the said property has been generating substantial rental income every month, which has been utilised for repaying the bank loans, thereby integrating the laundered funds and the fruits thereof
back into the legitimate economy, ED stated.
Further, analysis of the individual bank account statements by ED revealed large cash deposits amounting to Rs 15,24,000 in the account of Indreswar Kalita during the period 2006 to 2018 and Rs 16,92,000 in the account of his wife during the period 2012 to 2018. These deposits were made during the service period of Indreswar Kalita and remain unexplained by any satisfactory or legitimate
sources, thereby indicating the utilisation and layering of the proceeds of crime, the investigating agency said.
