New Delhi/Aizawl, March 31 – The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Tuesday that it had filed its first charge sheet before a court in Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram, in connection with a case involving fraudulent claims of government subsidies.
The ED's Aizawl Sub-Zonal Office filed a charge sheet on March 30 under Section 45 read with Section 44 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, before the Special Court of the PMLA, 2002 in Aizawl, against Ravi Gulgulia and others for the offence of money laundering, officials said.
An official statement said that the ED initiated an investigation based on the FIR registered by the Mizoram Police's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
A charge sheet was subsequently filed by the Mizoram Police's ACB before the competent court on May 30, 2019.
The investigation under PMLA revealed that Ravi Gulgulia, in criminal conspiracy with Margaret M. Varte, established a coke production unit in the name of M/s Mizo Carbon Products (MCP) near Aizawl with the intention of fraudulently obtaining Central government subsidies, the statement added.
The investigation established that the unit was non-operational during the claimed period and that various fabricated and forged documents, including fictitious records of production, transportation of goods, procurement of raw materials, and diesel consumption, were prepared and submitted to fraudulently claim Central Transport Subsidy (CTS) amounting to nearly Rs 2.47 crore and Central Capital Investment Subsidy (CCIS) amounting to Rs 93.90 lakh.
The total proceeds of crime generated through this fraud amounts to nearly Rs 3.41 crore, the statement said.
The ED investigation further revealed that immediately upon receiving the subsidy amounts, the proceeds of crime were systematically diverted and layered through multiple entities and bank accounts.
These accounts were controlled by Ravi Gulgulia, including Ravi Gulgulia and Sons (HUF), M/s Shivratri Commodities Private Limited, M/s Thirdwave Suppliers Private Limited, M/s Gulgulia Trade Corporation, and M/s Yash Marketing India, the ED said.
The funds were routed through circular transactions, split into multiple tranches, and ultimately integrated into the personal accounts of the main accused and into M/s Global Entrade, a partnership firm controlled by Ravi Gulgulia, which received tainted funds of Rs 45 lakh.
In this case, the ED has already provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 38.40 lakh vide provisional attachment order under Section 5 of the PMLA, 2002.
Further investigation is underway.