ED charges Jharkhand’s Koda, two associates

05 Mar 2011

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday filed a chargesheet against former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda, his his associate Vikas Sinha and  and his brother Binod Sinha, accusing them of violating the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

They are accused of amassing property worth crores of rupees and making illegal investments in the country and abroad.

The ED filed the chargesheet at the special court in the Jharkhand capital of Ranchi, alleging that Koda and the Sinhas had amassed property worth more than Rs181.80 crore and invested money in Bangalore, Jamshedpur and Mumbai, and in Liberia.

According to the ED chargesheet, the 'gang of three' had made Rs106 crore worth of investments in ''fictitious companies''; Rs75 crore in share capital; and Rs110.80 crore in several companies such as Arihant Tracon, Basudev Trading Co, and Doyen Marketing Pvt Ltd.

The chargesheet said that Koda himself had 'laundered' Rs181 crore and owned an iron ore mine in Liberia.

The 178-page chargesheet was filed in the court of special judge Geetendra Kumar Singh. The ED chargesheet said Rs75 crore was invested by Koda in share capital through account accommodation with the help of chartered accountants S K Naredi and others.