India News | ED Attaches Assets of Bihar-based Man Involved in Illegal Liquor Trade

New Delhi, Sep 5 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Monday said it has attached assets worth Rs 3.51 crore of a Bihar-based bootlegger and his family as part of a money laundering investigation against them.

Eight immovable properties of the accused, Vidiyo Rai, are located in Samastipur district of the state and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for attaching them, it said.

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The money laundering probe was initiated after the ED studied multiple FIRs of Bihar Police that alleged Rai was involved in "illegal" sale and purchase of liquor along with other criminal activities.

"Rai was utilising various bank accounts of immediate family members as well as distant relatives in order to layer the proceeds of crime and in an attempt to conceal them, he as well as his family members received huge funds in the bank accounts in the guise of borrowed money," the ED said in a statement.

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Rai also "indulged in filing fabricated ITRs (income tax returns) in his name and that of his family members in an attempt to conceal his illegal income as genuine", it said.

The agency alleged that he also transferred immovable properties/land "in the name of a third party and a sale deed was executed but no payment was received for the same, only to save himself and his associates from the clutches of law".

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)