Overview
- Chaitanya Baghel was arrested on July 18 under Section 19 of the PMLA following Enforcement Directorate raids based on fresh evidence at the home he shares with his father
- The ED alleges he was a key recipient of proceeds from the alleged ₹2,160 crore excise policy manipulation between 2019 and 2022 and has attached assets valued at around ₹205 crore
- After the Supreme Court quashed its initial FIR in 2024, the ED asked the Chhattisgarh EOW/ACB to register a fresh FIR on January 17 that named 70 individuals and companies
- In a July 19 remand filing, the ED told the court that Baghel laundered about ₹16.7 crore through shell firms and under-invoiced real estate transactions linked to his Vitthal Green project
- Bhupesh Baghel has condemned the timing of the action as politically motivated to derail a state assembly debate on tree felling for an Adani-linked coal mine