ED attaches assets of Shillong univ promoter, family in fake degrees case

Assets worth more than Rs 13 crore of a Shillong-based university, its promoter chancellor and his family have been attached by the ED in a money laundering probe linked to an alleged fake degree issuance case.

The agency said in a statement that the properties belong to CMJ University, chancellor Chandra Mohan Jha and his family, who were also the trustees of the CMJ foundation.

A provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been issued to attach bank accounts, fixed deposits, mutual funds, insurance policies and immovable properties worth a total Rs 13.54 crore, it said.

The ED filed a money laundering case on the basis of a Meghalaya Police CID FIR and chargesheet filed against the accused for ''defrauding thousands of students by giving them fake degree certificates.'' ''Around 20,570 degrees were illegally issued by CMJ University despite its small faculty. Credentials of the faculty were also highly doubtful,'' the ED alleged.

Probe found, it said, that ''after selling the fake degrees, the funds so received in their (accused) bank accounts, were diverted after rotating amongst accounts in various banks and invested in mutual funds, fixed deposits, insurance policies and immovable properties in the name of their family members and given colour of genuine transactions.'' The agency had earlier also attached assets in this case and with the latest order the total attachment stands at Rs 41.20 crore.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)