ED attaches ₹8.52 crore of Odisha’s Serajuddin & Co under money laundering case

|HT|

Eight days after its officials conducted search operation on the premises of mining leaseholder Serajuddin & co on charges of illegal mining of iron and manganese ore, the Enforcement Directorate on Saturday said it has attached Rs. 8.52 crore kept in the bank account of its directors under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act. In a press release, ED said that the money lying in the bank accounts of Seraj Yusha, Meraj Yusha and Yazdani International Pvt. Ltd(part of Serajuddin & Co) in a case of illegal mining of iron ore. The amount kept in Axis Bank has been treated as “proceeds of crime” by Serajuddin & Co.from the illegal mining of manganese and iron ores in Odisha.

ED said the company extracted manganese ore of 1.43 million tonnes illegally from Guruda manganese ore mines in Keonjhar district without having approved de-reservation proposal. Serajuddin & Co produced more iron ore during different year in comparison to the approved quantity of iron ore by Indian Bureau of Mines, it said.

ED has already attached movable properties of Rs. 622 crore of Serajuddin & Co. under the provisions of PMLA which has been confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority. Subsequently, a Prosecution Complaint has also been filed before the PMLA Special Court in Bhubaneswar.

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