ED seizes Rs 25 crore assets of firm linked to illegal mining in Haryana

New Delhi, April 7 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate has attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 25.16 crore in a case of money laundering by a company allegedly linked to illegal mining in Haryana, an official said on Monday.

The search operation against Sunder Marketing Associates, conducted by the ED Headquarters in New Delhi, involved seizure of assets including cash, agricultural lands, residential plots, residential house, flat and commercial office.

The ED also proceeded against company officials and partners Raman Sokhal s/o Vinod Sokhal, Satbir Chhikara and others under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002.

The company allegedly used deception and forged documents to get mining contracts.

The searches on Monday were a follow-up to a matter which cropped up during investigation into a complaint filed by Haryana State Pollution Control Board against another company, Govardhan Mines and Minerals, for illegal mining in Dadam Hill in Bhiwani district.

In August 2023, the ED had conducted searches against both Sunder Marketing Associates and Govardhan Mines and their associates in the illegal mining case. Both the companies had been slapped with a penalty of Rs 65 crore by the National Green Tribunal for illegal mining.

In July 2024, the ED searched premises of Govardhan Mines and Minerals at various locations in Hisar, Bhiwani, Gurugram, Panchkula and Delhi. The persons whose premises were raided included Ravita, Pankaj Singh, Jagat Singh, Sanjay Gupta, Sombir Singh, Naveen Kumar and others.

During the search operations various incriminating documents, digital devices, Rs 5 lakh in cash and a BMW car worth Rs 1.50 crore were seized, and the bank accounts of the firm having a balance of Rs 41 lakh were frozen.

The ED investigation revealed that Govardhan Mines and Minerals was involved in large scale illegal and unscientific mining in the Dadam area of Haryana, causing damage to the environment and huge loss to the exchequer.

The unscientific mining in the area also led to slope instabilities killing five people.

--IANS

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