The Enforcement Directorate on Sunday revealed that the central agency has unearthed corruption and money laundering to the tune of Rs 2000 crores between 2019 and 2022 by an organized criminal syndicate led by Anwar Dhebar operating in Chhattisgarh.
The PMLA investigation revealed that Anwar Dhebar, was backed by and was working for illegal gratification of the high level political executives and Senior Bureaucrats. He weaved an elaborate conspiracy and stitched a wide network of persons/ entities to execute the scam so that money was illegally collected from every bottle of liquor sold in the state, an ED statement said.
Excise Duty is one of the highest contributors to state kitty. Excise Departments are mandated to regulate the supply of liquor, ensure quality liquor to users to prevent hooch tragedies and to earn revenue for the State. But investigation revealed that a criminal syndicate led by Anwar Dhebar has turned all these objectives upside down, it said.
In Chhattisgarh, state controls all the aspects of liquor trade from procurement to retail sale to consumer. No private liquor shops are allowed. All 800 liquor shops are run by the State. Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL) centrally procured all the liquor sold in Chhattisgarh. CSMCL issues tenders for - Man-power suppliers who run the shops, cash collection tenders, select bottle and hologram makers, the statement said.
With the support of the political executives, Anwar Dhebar managed to get a pliant Commissioner and MD of CSMCL, and hired close associates like Vikas Agarwal @Subbu & Arvind Singh to make the system completely subservient to him. He controlled the entire chain of the liquor trade starting from - Private Distillers, FL-10A License Holders, Senior Officers of Excise Dept, District level Excise Officers, Man-power suppliers, Glass Bottle makers, Hologram Makers, Cash - Collection vendor etc and leveraged it to extort maximum amount of bribes/commission. Various other stakeholders also illegally benefited in the process, the agency’s statement said.
ED investigation has revealed that the Syndicate was benefiting in the following three different manners which includes commission of Rs 75-150 per case (depending on type of liquor) was fastidiously charged by the Syndicate from the suppliers for each accounted cash procured by CSMCL.
Secondly, Anwar Dhebar in conspiracy with the others started getting manufactured unaccounted country made kacha off-the books liquor and selling the same through government run shops. This way they could keep the entire sale proceeds without depositing even 1 Rupee in the State Exchequer. Duplicate holograms were provided. Duplicate bottles were procured in cash. Liquor was transported directly from distiller to shops by passing state-warehouses, it added.
Man power was trained to sell unaccounted liquor and the entire sale was done in cash. The entire sale was off the books and sale consideration was siphoned off with everyone in the illegal chain getting its share with distillers, transporters, bottle and hologram makers, excise officials, higher echelons of excise department, Anwar Dhebar and senior bureaucrats and politicians, the statement said.
ED claimed that between 2019 and 2022, this kind of illegal sale was almost 30-40 percent of the total sale and it generated Rs 1200 to 1500 crores illegal profit, it said.