ED Seizes Rs 13.48 Crore Gurugram Property in Major Railway Freight Fraud Investigation
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken decisive action in a significant case of alleged fraud against the Indian Railways. On Thursday, the agency's zonal officer in Jaipur provisionally attached an immovable property located in Gurugram, with an estimated value of approximately Rs 13.48 crore. This action was executed under the stringent provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
Complete Seizure of Illicit Proceeds Achieved
With this latest attachment, the total value of properties seized in this investigation has escalated to Rs 16.15 crore. ED officials have confirmed that this amount represents the entire proceeds of crime identified during their meticulous probe. On Friday, authorities emphasized that this comprehensive attachment ensures that 100% of the illicit gains have been secured, effectively eliminating any possibility for the accused to conceal, enjoy, or further launder these funds.
Roots of the Investigation and Criminal Conspiracy
The ED initiated its investigation based on three First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) Special Police Establishment in Jaipur. These cases pertained to incidents in Nathdwara, Mandalgarh, and Bharatpur, with charge sheets subsequently filed. Investigators unraveled a well-planned criminal conspiracy orchestrated by the accused entities.
According to ED officers, the fraud involved the systematic misdeclaration of high-freight commodities. Specifically, items such as marble powder, waste marble powder, and dolomite were falsely declared as low-freight goods like alum powder and putty. This deliberate misrepresentation was designed to illegally reduce railway freight charges, resulting in substantial financial losses.
Scale of the Fraud and Scientific Verification
During the period of 2021–22, the accused entities fraudulently transported over 120 rakes of goods by employing various deceptive practices. These included manipulating railway booking records, falsifying forwarding notes, tampering with e-forwarding notes, and using incorrect Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) codes. To confirm the nature of the consignments, the Geological Survey of India conducted a scientific analysis, which verified that the shipments declared as low-freight commodities were, in fact, marble and dolomite powder.
An ED officer elaborated, "The deliberate misdeclaration led to wrongful evasion of railway freight charges and Goods and Services Tax (GST). This generated proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 16.15 crore, causing a corresponding loss to the Indian Railways and the public exchequer."
Previous Actions and Securing Equivalent Value
This is not the first property attachment in this case. Earlier, on January 6, the ED had attached properties worth Rs 2.67 crore in Gurugram. Further investigation revealed that the remaining proceeds of crime had been siphoned off and consumed through business operations and personal expenditures. To secure these funds, the ED has now attached a residential property in Gurugram as property of equivalent value, ensuring full recovery of the illicit gains.
The accused parties in this case are M/s Vinayak Logistics India Pvt Ltd, M/s Vinayak Logistics, and its proprietor-director, Pravesh Kabra. The ED's actions underscore its commitment to combating financial crimes and protecting public resources from such fraudulent schemes.
