Overview
- ED submitted the prosecution complaint to the PMLA court in Raipur on December 26 in compliance with a three-month timeline set by the Supreme Court.
- The 59 newly named accused include former CMO deputy secretary Soumya Chaurasia, ex-IAS officer and former excise commissioner Niranjan Das, liquor licence holders, distributors and excise officials.
- ED alleges the scheme operated between 2019 and 2022 and involved proceeds of crime estimated at about ₹3,000 crore, claims that remain to be tested in court.
- Earlier actions in the case include the arrests of Congress MLA and former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma in January and Chaitanya Baghel in July, with ED alleging Lakhma was a primary beneficiary and Baghel helped handle nearly ₹1,000 crore.
- A parallel EOW/ACB probe continues with a seventh supplementary chargesheet filed on December 22 that alleged Chaitanya Baghel received ₹200–₹250 crore and suggested total proceeds could exceed ₹3,500 crore.