ED Seizes Assets in Indore Corruption Case Against Former Civic Employee

The Enforcement Directorate has attached properties worth Rs 39.91 lakh in a money laundering investigation involving ex-Indore Municipal Corporation employee Chetan Patil. Accused of acquiring assets disproportionate to his income, Patil allegedly laundered proceeds through various channels. The properties' current market value exceeds Rs 80 lakh.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), through its Indore Sub-Zonal Office, has provisionally attached immovable assets valued at Rs 39.91 lakh. This action comes under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and involves allegations against Chetan Patil, a former employee of the Indore Municipal Corporation.

According to the official release on Tuesday, the attachment, carried out on Monday, includes a plot and residential building owned by Patil and his wife, Jyoti Patil. The ED disclosed that the properties' market value at present exceeds Rs 80 lakh.

The investigation originated from an FIR by the Economic Offence Wing, Indore, citing breaches of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018. Patil allegedly amassed assets worth approximately Rs 1.38 crore, far exceeding his declared income of Rs 55.11 lakh. Funds were reportedly laundered through bank accounts and a proprietorship under his wife's name, M/s Nagrodh Architect Engineers and Infrastructure, itself a front with no real business activities. This entity was reportedly used to obfuscate and integrate illicit money flows. The case continues as authorities probe deeper into these allegations.

(With inputs from agencies.)