ED files supplementary PMLA complaint against former treasurer of Chhattisgarh Congress in liquor scam
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Raipur has filed a supplementary prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against Ramgopal Agrawal, former Treasurer of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee, as part of its liquor scam investigation.
The agency filed the complaint with the Special Court (PMLA) in Raipur on 9 October 2026 and, on 8 October, also issued a Provisional Attachment Order for two properties in Raipur worth Rs 9.06 crore.
The ED arrested Agrawal on August 11, 2026, and he remains in judicial custody. This move is part of the agency’s investigation into the big liquor scam in Chhattisgarh, which took place from 2019 to 2023.
The investigation was started as a result of a First Information Report (FIR) being filed by the Economic Offences Wing/Anti-Corruption Bureau (EOW/ACB) in Raipur, under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The FIR names several people, including Anil Tuteja, Anwar Dhebar, Arun Pati Tripathi, and former Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma.
The ED says a liquor syndicate controlled the Excise Department and the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Ltd (CSMCL) during this time. The syndicate is accused of generating over Rs 2,883 crore through several methods, including illegal commissions on country liquor, selling unaccounted liquor in Government shops with duplicate holograms, collecting annual commissions from distillers, and using the FL-10A licence system for foreign liquor.
Laxmi Narayan Bansal, also called Pappu Bansal, managed much of the syndicate’s cash and sent it to Rajiv Bhawan, the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee office in Shankar Nagar, Raipur.
These deliveries followed Ramgopal Agrawal’s instructions. People linked to the syndicate carried the cash and handed it to Devendra Dadsena, an accountant who worked for Agrawal.
The ED estimates that about Rs 860-880 crore connected to the liquor scam moved through this channel. Of this, around Rs 72 crore stayed under Agrawal’s control and was kept, used, or distributed as he directed.
The agency says digital records, call details, and statements under Section 50 of the PMLA support the delivery process and Agrawal’s involvement: Anupam Nagar and Katora Talab in Raipur. The ED has attached these as properties of equivalent value under the PMLA.
In the broader investigation, the ED has already filed a main Prosecution Complaint and six Supplementary Prosecution Complaints with the Special Court (PMLA) in Raipur. So far, the ED has arrested nine people, including former Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma, Anil Tuteja, Anwar Dhebar, Arun Pati Tripathi, and Chaitanya Baghel.
The agency has attached, seized, or frozen assets worth over Rs 601.28 crore. With the latest attachment of Rs 9.06 crore, the total value of assets in the case is now about Rs 610.34 crore, and further investigation remains in progress.
