Gangtok: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets valued at Rs 32.57 lakh belonging to some people under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, official sources said on Thursday.
The ED sleuths of Gangtok Sub-Zonal office have provisionally attached movable and immovable assets valued at Rs 32.57 lakh belonging to Narendra Kumar Chettri, his wife Jayanti Thapa and other individuals under the provisions of the Prevention of the PMLA, 2002.
The attachment is in connection with the fraudulent siphoning of funds from the Indian Himalayan Centre for Adventure and Eco-Tourism (IHCAE), Chemchey, South Sikkim.
The ED initiated the investigation based on an FIR, registered on June 13, 2016 by the Sikkim Vigilance Police against Narendra Kumar Chettri, who, during his tenure as Assistant Director-cum-Principal of IHCAE, was found to have dishonestly and wilfully issued cheques amounting to Rs 1.36 crore to unauthorised persons without maintaining official records, the investigating agency sources said.
Chettri transferred funds to private individuals, including his wife Jayanti Thapa and subsequently withdrew in cash without any material procurement or legitimate transactions.
The assets provisionally attached include immovable property in the form of a plot of land measuring 0.1280 hectares, located in South Sikkim owned by Narendra Chettri and movable properties in the form of Bank account balances across ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, SBI, and HDFC Bank, totalling Rs 7.77 lakh in the name of various individuals.
The investigation under PMLA continues, with further efforts to trace the remaining proceeds of crime and locate the individuals involved. ED remains committed to ensuring that properties and assets acquired through illegal activities are identified and secured to prevent their disposal and to safeguard public funds, the sources said.
Further investigation is under progress. The IHCAE is a division under the Sikkim Tourism Department and is based in Chemchey, South district.
(IANS)
