Guwahati: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday carried out search operations at six locations in Guwahati, Kokrajhar, Tezpur and New Delhi as part of a money-laundering probe into an alleged scam involving fake purchase orders issued in the name of autonomous councils in Assam.
The searches, conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), are linked to an ongoing investigation against Rishiraj Kaundinya, Biju Das, Mukesh Jain and others accused of issuing fraudulent supply orders purportedly on behalf of the Dima Hasao Autonomous Council, the Mising Autonomous Council and other bodies.
ED officials said Rs. 14.5 lakh in cash was seized during the raids, along with bank accounts holding Rs. 13.68 lakh that were frozen.
Two high-end vehicles — an Innova Hyryder and a Toyota Fortuner — and a land sale agreement worth Rs.65 lakh, suspected to be linked to proceeds of crime, were also recovered. Investigators additionally seized multiple property documents, digital records and other incriminating material.
According to the ED, Kaundinya and his associates allegedly ran a “well-organised criminal conspiracy” involving fabrication of government documents, including fake supply orders, forged signatures, cheques and payment clearance notes.
The accused allegedly used these forged documents to induce suppliers with high-value orders for blankets, tarpaulins, dyed cotton yarn, solar equipment and infrastructure projects.
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The agency said the group extracted large commission amounts in advance as a condition for processing the fraudulent orders. Goods were then diverted or illegally offloaded, and suppliers received no payment.
The ED estimates that unpaid dues to suppliers amount to Rs. 9.86 crore, while illegal commissions worth Rs. 2.04 crore were collected by the accused.
The agency said further investigation is underway to trace additional proceeds of crime, attach properties and facilitate restitution to victims through the legal process.
