ED Attaches Rs 53 Crore Assets of Retired IPS Officer in Laundering Case
The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 53.28 crore, including hotels and flats, linked to retired Assam-cadre IPS officer Prasanta Kumar Dutta. The action follows allegations of accumulating disproportionate assets through money laundering between 1992 and 2019.
Highlights
- •The Enforcement Directorate attached assets worth Rs 53.28 crore belonging to a retired IPS officer.
- •The investigation targets Prasanta Kumar Dutta, a former DIG in the Assam Police who retired in 2019.
- •Attached properties include four hotels in Guwahati and two apartments in Andheri West, Mumbai.
- •Officials allege the officer amassed Rs 79 crore in assets against a known income of just Rs 7.23 crore.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated significant legal action by attaching assets valued at approximately Rs 53.28 crore. This enforcement measure is linked to an ongoing money laundering investigation involving a former Assam-cadre IPS officer, Prasanta Kumar Dutta. The federal agency disclosed details of the attachment on Saturday, highlighting its continued efforts to crack down on corruption and illicit financial activities among public officials.
Prasanta Kumar Dutta, who served as a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Assam Police before retiring in 2019, is at the center of this probe. The assets identified for provisional attachment by the Enforcement Directorate include four hotel properties located in Guwahati, along with two residential apartments situated in the Samartha Deep complex in Andheri West, Mumbai. These attachments represent a substantial portion of the assets under investigation.
Details of the Money Laundering Investigation
The foundation of this money laundering case rests on an initial First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Assam Anti-Corruption and Vigilance Bureau. According to official findings, the investigation suggests that Prasanta Kumar Dutta accumulated wealth and properties vastly exceeding his known sources of income throughout his tenure between 1992 and 2019.
Data provided by the Enforcement Directorate reveals a staggering disparity in the financial records examined. It is alleged that the former official and his spouse amassed assets totaling roughly Rs 79 crore, despite having a combined legitimate income of only Rs 7.23 crore. Furthermore, the couple's documented expenditures amounted to Rs 9.04 crore, far below the scale of their acquired holdings.
The agency further outlined that the IPS officer purportedly utilized three specific business entities to launder the proceeds of his alleged illicit activities, notably mentioning a company identified as Ishan Commercial. Investigators determined that Prasanta Kumar Dutta exerted control over this entity by orchestrating the transfer of 3.70 lakh shares from dummy shareholders directly to himself during the 2022-2023 fiscal period. By executing these transfers, the former official became the primary stakeholder in Ishan Commercial. The Enforcement Directorate has confirmed that Ishan Commercial holds the beneficial ownership of three out of the four hotels that have now been provisionally attached as part of this extensive money laundering inquiry.
