Image Source: AGENCIES

19-04-2023
WATSUPPTODAY DESK

Among the over Rs 39 crore worth of assets of a former Jharkhand Rural Development Department Chief Engineer that have been attached under the anti-money laundering law are a farmhouse, two flats in upscale areas of the National Capital, a bungalow in Jamshedpur, and some land parcels, the ED said on Wednesday.
The federal agency announced in a statement that a provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to seize these properties owned by the officer, Veerendra Kumar Ram, and his family. Several searches at his locations and those connected to him in Ranchi and Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, Bihar, and Delhi led to his arrest in February of this year by the ED. Alok Ranjan, his cousin, was also detained in this case in April, and they are both currently being held in judicial custody. The ED confiscated during these raids approximately Rs 40 lakh in cash, 7 high-end vehicles, and jewelry worth Rs 1.51 crore. The attached assets include movable and immovable properties worth Rs 39.28 crore, including a farmhouse, a flat, and a duplex bungalow in Jamshedpur, as well as some land parcels, according to the ED. The properties also include a farmhouse and a flat each in the upscale Defence Colony and Saket neighborhoods of Delhi. "Veerendra Kumar Ram, who was employed as the chief engineer by the rural works department in Ranchi, had obtained illegal gains from contractors in the form of commissions instead of awarding them contracts. Veerendra Kumar Ram and his family allegedly used the money obtained through crime to maintain a very opulent lifestyle. Ram is the subject of a money laundering investigation after the Jharkhand ACB received a complaint.