New Delhi, Apr 29 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Tuesday said it has seized Rs 7.44 crore in cash after conducting searches at multiple locations in Madhya Pradesh as part of a money laundering investigation linked to alleged about Rs 50 crore worth irregularities in the liquor trade between 2015-16 and 2017-18.

As many as 13 premises belonging to different liquor contractors in Bhopal, Indore and Mandsaur were raided under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Monday.

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The money laundering case stems from a Indore police (Raoji police station) FIR filed against liquor contractors for allegedly causing loss to government revenue to the tune of Rs 49,42,45,615 (Rs 49.42 crore) through "forgery" and "manipulation" of treasury challans, and for "unlawfully" obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the acquisition of liquor during the period 2015 -16 to FY 2017-18 fiscals, the federal probe agency said in a statement .

It said Rs 7.44 crore in cash was seized and bank deposits worth Rs 71 lakh apart from some bank lockers were frozen during the searches. Some "incriminating" documents and documents pertaining to immovable properties were also seized during the operation.

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The ED said the accused liquor contractors used to prepare challans of small amounts and deposit them in the bank. In the prescribed format of the challan, "Rs. in figures" and "Rs. in Words" were written.

The value was filled in figures, however, blank space was left after "Rs. in Words", it said.

After depositing the amount, the depositor would later write the increased amount in the form of lakh thousand in the above-mentioned blank space, and copies of the so-called challans of such increased amounts would be submitted at the respective country liquor warehouse or at the district excise office in case of foreign liquor, the agency claimed.

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