New Delhi | The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached four hotels and two residential flats worth ₹53.28 crore in connection with a money laundering investigation against former Assam Police Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Prasanta Kumar Dutta in a disproportionate assets case. The action has been taken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
According to the ED, the attached assets include four hotels located in Guwahati and two residential flats in the Samartha Deep residential complex at Andheri (West), Mumbai. The agency stated that the combined value of these properties is approximately ₹53.28 crore.
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The money laundering investigation originates from an FIR registered by the Assam Anti-Corruption and Vigilance Bureau, which alleged that Dutta accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income during his service tenure between 1992 and 2019.
During the investigation, the ED found that the retired IPS officer and his wife allegedly acquired assets worth around ₹79 crore, while their combined disclosed income stood at ₹7.23 crore and total expenditure was reported at ₹9.04 crore. The agency has alleged that the significant gap between their declared income and the assets acquired indicates the proceeds of crime.
The ED further alleged that the suspected illicit funds were laundered through three companies, including Ishan Commercial. According to the investigation, during the financial year 2022-23, Dutta allegedly caused 3.70 lakh shares of the company to be transferred from dummy and fictitious shareholders into his own name, making him the largest shareholder of the firm.
The agency claims that Ishan Commercial is the beneficial owner of three of the four hotels that have now been attached. Investigators are examining the company’s financial transactions, share transfers, banking records and documents relating to the acquisition of the properties.
The investigation is also focused on identifying the role of other individuals or entities, if any, in the alleged investment of illicit funds, acquisition of assets and restructuring of the companies’ shareholding patterns. Financial records and digital evidence are being analysed as part of the ongoing probe.
Commenting on financial crime investigations, noted cybercrime expert and former IPS officer Prof. Triveni Singh said that scrutiny of shareholding patterns, beneficial ownership, banking trails and digital financial records is critical in money laundering cases. He noted that forensic financial analysis and digital transaction trails often play a decisive role in uncovering attempts to conceal the true ownership of assets through layered corporate structures.
The ED said the investigation is continuing, and further legal action will be taken based on the evidence, financial documents and other material collected during the probe.
