SUBHASH MISHRA
Ranchi, January 17: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) investigation has unearthed that coal businessman of Hazaribag Ezhar Ansari sold linkage coal worth Rs 71 crores in the open market and generated an equal amount of ‘Proceeds of Crime’.
Ezhar Ansari, who was arrested on Tuesday, was today produced in the Special PMLA Court Ranchi. The court has granted six days of his custody to the ED. He was found guilty of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Act (PMLA), 2002 in a coal linkage misuse case.
The ED investigation revealed that Md Ezhar Ansari has misused the coal linkage policy under which subsidised coal used to be allotted to small & medium enterprises (SME) for captive consumption.
Around 86,568 tonnes of coal having a market value of Rs 71 Crore was allotted to 13 such SME firms of Ezhar Ansari. However, instead of using it for captive consumption, he diverted and sold the coal in the open market and generated an equal amount of Proceeds of Crime.
The Investigation further revealed that these 13 firms/entities have been found to be non-operational/shell entities.
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The ED initiated the investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Jharkhand Police against truck driver Sayyaid Salmani (who works for Ezhar Ansari), under various sections of IPC, 1860. Later on, a charge sheet was filed by the Jharkhand Police against Md. Ezhar Ansari & others under various sections of IPC, 1860 and Coal Mines Act.
In this case, illegally transported coal to the tune of 19 tonnes along with the said truck was also seized by the Jharkhand Police.
Earlier, during searches conducted on March 3, 2023, at the premises linked to Ezhar Ansari, Proceeds of Crime to the tune of Rs 3.58 Crore was found and seized along with many incriminating digital and documentary evidence.
The ED investigation has also revealed that the accused person has acquired huge Proceeds of Crime by selling such coal (of subsidised rate) at a higher price in open coal Mandi of Varanasi and Dhanbad and also invested the Proceeds of Crime in immovable properties.
The investigation indicated that in lieu of such subsidised coal allotment, Ezhar Ansari used to give bribes/commissions to some public servants.
For the purpose of investigation, repeated summonses were issued to him under section 50 of the PMLA, 2002 but he neither appeared nor submitted any reply to the ED.
On January 16, 2024 (Tuesday), the ED conducted a search on three premises at Hazaribagh linked to him and arrested him from Hazaribagh.
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