After Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, ED scanner on illegal mining in Bihar

last week attached properties belonging to several accused persons including a politician worth over ₹50 crore in two money laundering cases pertaining to illegal sand mining and sale

After West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has turned its attention towards the mining mafia in Bihar, where large syndicates are allegedly involved in illegal sand mining, causing environmental degradation and huge losses to the state exchequer, people familiar with the developments said.

In the past eight months alone, ED has established that illegal sand mining has caused revenue loss worth ₹400 crore to the Bihar government. (File)

The financial crimes probe agency last week attached properties belonging to several accused persons including a politician worth over ₹50 crore in two money laundering cases pertaining to illegal sand mining and sale.

In the past eight months alone, ED has established that illegal sand mining has caused revenue loss worth ₹400 crore to the Bihar government.

“We are aware of the menace of sand mining with major syndicates running the illegal sand mining business and causing environmental degradation and loss to exchequer’s resources in Bihar and other states. We undertook scrutiny of various first information reports (FIRs) in Bihar and found that a few big giants were involved, and rampant mining is happening without the fear of law,” said a senior ED officer, who didn’t want to be named.

The first case under ED’s scanner pertains to Janata Dal-United (JD-U) MLC, Radha Charan Sah, who was arrested by the agency in September 2023. The allegations are that a company - Broadsons Commodities Pvt Ltd, against whom 19 FIRs were registered by the Bihar Police, was involved in the illegal mining.

“Broadsons has been involved in illegal sand mining and selling of sand without using the departmental prepaid transportation e-challan, issued by the mining authority, Bihar and has caused huge revenue loss to the extent of ₹161.15 crore to the government exchequer,” ED said in a statement on February 6 after attaching properties worth ₹26.19 croire belonging to Sah.

ED’s probe revealed that the sale and mining of sand was mainly controlled by the syndicate, of which Sah is a member, and huge proceeds of crime were generated.

“Sah layered and laundered the proceeds of crime with the assistance of his son Kanhaiya Prasad using hawala network. He used it in acquisition and development of a resort in Manali (Himachal Pradesh) through a company, where his sons are shareholders, and to carry out constructions in the school in Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh) run by his family-owned trust. He used the façade of a firm and a trust owned by his family members to layer the proceeds of crime,” ED said in its statement.

The second case pertains to a company, Aditya Multicom Private Limited, and its directors Jag Narayan Singh and Satish Kumar Singh. This money laundering case was registered by ED based on 24 FIRs filed by the Bihar Police.

“It is alleged that Aditya Multicom has been involved in illegal sand mining and illegal sale of sand and has caused revenue loss to the extent of ₹249.63 crores (approx.) to the (Bihar) government exchequer,” ED said in a separate statement on February 6.

ED last week attached properties worth over ₹25 crore belonging to the company and its directors.

Officials cited above said that the Bihar mining department has already been informed about the irregularities and revenue loss to it.

Earlier, ED has investigated illegal sand or coal mining cases in West Bengal, in which Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee is under scanner; Jharkhand – where former chief minister Hemant Soren is being probed in a matter related to illegal mining; and similar case in Chhattisgarh in which some former senior state government officials were under the scanner.

Asserting that there are more instances of illegal mining cases in various states, the second officer cited above, who also requested anonymity, said “these syndicates have muscle and power”.

“They support the companies, which are front, to give security deposits in their bidding processes, etc. and get back their investments with windfall profits. The funds generated through illegal mining are either returned to the syndicates in cash or laundered by infusing into the dummy accounts of labourers and employees of the company. Then comes the expertise of chartered accountants, who help both companies and syndicates in managing their ill-gotten wealth,” this officer added.