Overview
- The ED provisionally attached Rs 38.21 crore linked to former excise chief Niranjan Das and 30 officials, plus Rs 68.16 crore tied to Chhattisgarh Distilleries Ltd., Bhatia Wine Merchants Pvt. Ltd., and Welcome Distilleries Pvt. Ltd.
- The latest action includes 78 properties such as luxury homes, commercial spaces and farmland, and 197 investments spanning bank balances, fixed deposits, insurance policies, equities and mutual funds.
- A supplementary chargesheet filed on December 26 names 81 accused, including Chaitanya Baghel, former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma, IAS officers Anil Tuteja and Niranjan Das, and ex-CSMCL MD Arun Pati Tripathi.
- The ED alleges a syndicate of senior officials and political figures ran a parallel excise system that generated illegal earnings via fixed commissions, unaccounted sales, cartel payments and FL-10A licence-linked extortion.
- The probe pegs suspected proceeds at about Rs 2,800–2,883 crore, with allegations that excise officials received Rs 140 per case and that Das took a monthly Rs 50 lakh, while the money-laundering investigation under PMLA remains ongoing.