E-Paper
Enforcement Directorate attaches Gayatri Prajapati’s kin properties worth ₹13.42 crore
The investigation also revealed that he used the bank accounts of his family members to deposit the illegitimate cash earned by him and exploited his fiduciary relationship with them for his illegal gains.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached various immovable properties worth ₹13.42 crore belonging to the family members and close associates of the incarcerated former UP minister Gayatri Prajapati, according to senior ED officials on Saturday.
“The ED has provisionally attached assets, including four flats in Malad (West), Mumbai, and seven parcels of agricultural and residential land in Mohanlalganj and Hariharpur village near Ahmamau in Lucknow, under the ongoing investigation in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) registered against Prajapati. This marks the second provisionally attached set of properties, and the total consolidated value of attached properties, including this one, stands at ₹50.37 crore,” they said.
In a press note shared by the ED, the officials said the investigation against the ex-minister was initiated in 2021 based on FIR registered by Uttar Pradesh Vigilance Establishment, Lucknow against him for the act of acquiring disproportionate assets and conducting criminal misconduct based on recommendation of the Lokayukta, Uttar Pradesh.
It further stated that during his tenure as the mining minister of Uttar Pradesh in the Samajwadi Party regime between 2012-2017, Gayatri Prajapati misused his official position. He acquired huge disproportionate assets in the name of his family members, close associates, and friends, which were not commensurate with their known sources of income. The former minister and his family members laundered the illicit funds generated during his tenure through various legal entities, using a set of fictitious and sham transactions to acquire multiple assets.
The investigation also revealed that he used the bank accounts of his family members to deposit the illegitimate cash earned by him and exploited his fiduciary relationship with them for his illegal gains. The officials stated that further investigation in the case is in progress. Earlier, the ED had attached 60 immovable properties in the name of Gayatri Prajapati’s family members and deposits in various bank accounts worth ₹36.95 crore.
The ED registered the PMLA case against the former minister on January 15, 2021. The ED registered the case against Prajapati based on findings that surfaced during searches conducted at seven locations of the former minister, his family members and aides in Lucknow, Kanpur and Amethi on December 30, 2020.
