The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable properties worth ₹53.28 crore in a money laundering case against a retired Assam-based IPS officer, Prasanta Kumar Dutta, and his family members. The attachment was carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The ED initiated the probe based on a first information report (FIR) registered by the Assam police’s Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Branch, which alleged that Dutta amassed assets grossly disproportionate to his known sources of income during his service period from 1992 to 2019.
Dutta and his wife were found to possess undisclosed assets of about ₹77.21 crore against a disclosed income of ₹7.23 crore and disclosed expenditure of ₹9.04 crore. The ED ascertained the net disproportionate assets at approximately ₹79.01 crore. Investigations under the PMLA revealed that the proceeds of crime were laundered and projected as untainted property through three closely-held companies - Mahamaya Estates Pvt. Ltd., Ishan Commercial Pvt. Ltd., and Murari Commodities Pvt. Ltd.
The registered offices of all three companies were found to be non-existent. The ED found that unexplained cash aggregating ₹14,74,99,091 was introduced into the accounts of the family members and the companies, and the funds were layered through fictitious shareholders, Kolkata-based shell entities, and circular bank transfers, before being integrated into hotel properties and flats in Mumbai. The ED provisionally attached four hotels in Guwahati and two residential flats in Mumbai’s Andheri West.
Further investigation is in progress.
