Ranchi, March 25 (IANS) The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Ranchi Zonal Office, has filed a chargesheet under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against six persons in connection with the alleged misappropriation of government funds at the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) State Office in Ranchi.

The prosecution complaint was filed on March 24, 2026, before the Special Judge, CBI-cum-Special Judge under the PMLA, Ranchi, against Sunil Kumar (then Executive, KVIC Ranchi), Aman Kumar, Shahil, Priya, Binod Kumar Baitha (then Senior Executive, Administration and Human Resource, KVIC Ranchi), and Banku Nishad.

The ED initiated the money laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR and chargesheet filed by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch, Ranchi. The predicate offences include criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and criminal misconduct under the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

According to the ED, Sunil Kumar, in conspiracy with his relatives and other co-accused, created fictitious entities, including a shell company using a forged Corporate Identification Number (CIN).

They allegedly diverted funds totalling approximately Rs 3.89 crore sanctioned under the Khadi Reform and Development Programme (KRDP) into the personal bank accounts of his relatives without executing any actual work.

The co-accused relatives reportedly surrendered their banking credentials and signed blank cheques, facilitating the acquisition, possession, and layering of the proceeds of crime through multiple proxy accounts.

The laundered money was later integrated into immovable assets purchased in the name of Sunil Kumar’s wife at Ormanjhi in Ranchi, with the actual sale consideration allegedly concealed through deliberate undervaluation in registered deed documents.

During the investigation, the ED conducted a search on March 20, 2025, at the residential premises of Sunil Kumar under Section 17 of the PMLA.

The agency provisionally attached immovable and movable properties worth Rs 71.91 lakh, which was later confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority.

Additionally, Rs 31.11 lakh transferred to the Ashram Kalyan Nidhi Nyas Trust, Ranchi, out of the proceeds of crime, was voluntarily disgorged by the trust and deposited with the ED.

--IANS

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