ED attaches assets worth over Rs 22 crore in Punjab tender 'scam'

The ED on Friday said it has attached assets worth more than Rs 22 crore in connection with a money laundering investigation into an alleged tender scam in Punjab in which it had arrested former cabinet minister and Congress leader Bharat Bhushan Ashu.

A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach immovable properties like buildings in Ludhiana, Mohali and Khanna apart from fixed deposits, gold jewellery, bullion and bank accounts belonging to the people involved in the case.

The total value of the attached assets is Rs 22.78 crore, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said in a statement.

Ashu, 53, a former minister of food, civil supplies and consumer affairs, was arrested by the federal agency in the case on August 1.

The money laundering investigation stems from an FIR registered by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in connection with the tender "scam" in the state government's food department.

"Ashu favoured selected contractors in the allotment of tenders and promised higher profits to them, thereby collecting bribes from them through Rajdeep Singh Nagra, Rakesh Kumar Singla and other persons, including a few government officers of Punjab Food and Civil Supplies Department.

"The bribe money was further laundered to purchase movable and immovable properties, using a network of shell entities," the ED alleged.

Nagra was also arrested in the case. He and Ashu are currently in judicial custody and lodged in jail.

The Congress had condemned Ashu's arrest, terming it "vendetta" politics.