The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on 14 locations linked to former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and his son Chaitanya Baghel, as part of an investigation into an alleged multi-crore liquor scam. The searches, which occurred in Bhilai and Durg district, focused on documents associated with the ongoing money laundering probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Mr. Baghel criticized the timing of the raids, suggesting they were retaliatory after a court dismissed a long-standing case against him. The ED claims the scam involved substantial financial losses to the state, with significant illegal commissions siphoned off from liquor sales during 2019-2022.
Bhopal:
This morning, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at multiple locations associated with former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and prominent Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel, along with his son Chaitanya Baghel, in connection with a purported multi-crore liquor scandal. ED officials searched at least 14 sites linked to the Baghel family, including their residence in Bhilai city, located in Durg district, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). During these raids, officials reviewed various essential documents.
Following the revelations, Mr. Baghel criticized the ED, asserting that the raids were a reaction to a court ruling that annulled a “false case” ongoing for the past seven years.
“After the court dismissed a false case that had persisted for seven years, ED officials visited the Bhilai residence of former Chief Minister and Congress General Secretary Bhupesh Baghel this morning. If there is an attempt to destabilize Congress in Punjab through this conspiracy, it is a grave misunderstanding,” Mr. Baghel stated.
Locations connected to close associates of Chaitanya Baghel were also among those raided as part of the money laundering investigation.
The inquiry pertains to an alleged liquor scam that the central agency claims has resulted in a “significant loss” to the state treasury. Officials assert that those involved in the liquor syndicate managed to embezzle roughly Rs 2,161 crore through various schemes.
According to officials, Chaitanya Baghel benefited from proceeds generated by this alleged scam.
Preliminary findings from the ED’s investigation indicate that the liquor syndicate was active between 2019 and 2022, amassing substantial illegal commissions through various means. One method involved soliciting bribes from distillers for each liquor case secured by the state liquor body.
The alleged scam also extended to the sales of country liquor from state-operated shops, which remained completely unaccounted for. The ED suspects that not a single rupee made its way to the state treasury, with all funds diverted to the arrested syndicate suspects.
According to the ED, distillers also had to pay bribes to be part of a liquor cartel that maintained a predetermined market share. Commissions were likewise imposed within the foreign liquor sector.