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The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached immovable assets valued at Rs 6.77 crore in connection with the Trans-Arunachal Highway land acquisition compensation scam, taking the cumulative value of proceeds of crime secured in the probe to Rs 16.90 crore. Issued by the agency’s Itanagar Sub-Zonal Office under Section 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the fresh attachment order targets properties linked to former public servants and private beneficiaries accused of siphoning public funds intended for road development. The action forms part of an expansive financial inquiry into large-scale irregularities during the assessment and disbursement of compensation for the Potin to Bopi stretch of the highway project.
Multi-Crore Assets Attached Across Arunachal Pradesh
The latest attachment encompasses three prime immovable assets situated across West Siang and Papum Pare districts. The first is a two-storey residential building on a 2,250 square metre plot in Yeggo village, Aalo, registered in the name of the late Kemo Lollen, the then Deputy Commissioner of Ziro, valued at Rs 2.40 crore. The second asset is the JEYOUCH HUTS Resort, covering roughly 10,720 square metres at Tigdo village in Doimukh, held in the name of Toko Tat Jotam, son of former junior engineer Toko Taje, assessed at Rs 2 crore. The third property is a residential-cum-commercial parcel in A-Sector, Naharlagun, registered under private beneficiary Tadar Babin, valued at Rs 2.37 crore.
Fact-Finding Panel Uncovers Bogus Beneficiary Network
The federal money laundering probe stems from an initial regular case registered by the Special Investigation Cell Vigilance police station in Itanagar. An administrative fact-finding committee appointed by the Arunachal Pradesh government revealed that public servants conspired with private parties to manipulate official land and structural records. This fraudulent documentation facilitated excess payouts of roughly Rs 44.98 crore to ineligible and completely fictitious claimants, inflicting severe losses on the state exchequer. Investigators established that Lollen directly supervised the disbursement process, while Taje handled structural assessments of compensation claims, creating avenues for arbitrary inflation and unlawful clearances.
Trail of Kickbacks and Layered Bank Transactions
Subsequent scrutiny of banking channels, transaction ledgers, and formal statements recorded under the anti-money laundering statute exposed extensive bribery and layering of proceeds. Inquiries revealed that Lollen received Rs 2 crore in cash to illegally enter an ineligible person into the official compensation records. An additional sum of Rs 40 lakh was channelled through M/s Tenzin Enterprises and transferred to the late officer through his son. Investigators also detected that Rs 2 crore was credited to the personal bank account of Toko Yuch, the wife of junior engineer Toko Taje, which was then layered across multiple domestic bank accounts to obscure the illicit origin of the funds. Meanwhile, Tadar Babin received approximately Rs 5.47 crore in compensation despite having no land, structure, or lawful entitlement within the designated project alignment.
The enforcement wing had previously frozen bank balances and deposits amounting to Rs 5.14 crore and seized Rs 2.62 crore in cash during searches on February 6, 2026, comprising Rs 2.40 crore from Likha Maj and Rs 22 lakh from Babin. Earlier, on March 23, 2026, the agency had attached assets worth Rs 2.37 crore belonging to Babin and Maj. The principal prosecution complaint was filed before the Special PMLA Court at Yupia on March 12, 2024, which took cognisance on March 14, 2024, followed by a supplementary complaint on March 30, 2026. Further investigative proceedings remain ongoing to identify additional proceeds.
