ORDER :

1. This is first bail application filed under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for grant of regular bail to the applicant, who has been arrested on 13.10.2022 in connection with Crime No. ECIR/RPZO/09/2022 dated 29.09.2022 registered at Police Station-Directorate of Enforcement, Zonal Office, Raipur (C.G.) for the offence punishable under Section 3 & 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (for short “the PMLA, 2002”).

2. The case of the prosecution is that during a search and seizure action under Section 132 of the Income Tax Act conducted on 30.06.2022 one Mr. Suryakant Tiwari at a hotel room of Hotel Shereton Grand, Bengaluru, certain incriminating materials are said to have been found, based upon which a complaint was lodged by the Income Tax Department at the Kadugodi, Police Station Bengaluru alleging offences under Sections 186, 204 and 353 read with Section 120B of the IPC which led to the registration of the FIR. Based up on the further investigation the Enforcement Directorate registered ECIR No. RPZO/09/2022 and further investigation was conducted. In the course of the investigation the present applicant was summoned and finally the applicant was arrested on 13.10.2022.

3. It is case of the prosecution that the prosecution has recovered diaries from the possession of Smt. Soumya Chourasiya and the main accused- Suryakant Tiwari, which would reveal transaction of cash money between Smt. Soumya Chourasiya and the main accused- Suryakant Tiwari. It is also case of the prosecution that object of Suryakant Tiwari to tamper and destroy the important documents as well as electronic gadgets and Suryakant Tiwari along with his brother, Rajnikant Tiwari and his associates Hemant Jaiswal, Jogendra Singh, Moinuddin Quaraishi, Nikhil Chandrakar, Roshan Singh and others were involved a criminal conspiracy to run a parallel system of collecting illegal levy on coal and were doing illegal and unaccounted cash movement as per instructions of Suryakant Tiwari. All the above mentioned associates of Suryakant Tiwari had admitted in their statements recorded before the Income Tax officials that they were doing the illegal levy collection on the instructions of Suryakant Tiwari. The proceeds received from the above referred to action were being used for taking undue advantage and to influence public servants by corrupt and illegal means and by exercise of personal influence.

4. The role of the present applicant is that he has handled the proceeds of crime as per the instructions of Suryakant Tiwari. He has admitted that on a daily basis, the collected illegal cash amount was parked at his residence and as per the instructions of Suryakant Tiwari, he would pay/move the PoC. Further, as per the fund trail investigation done by ED, it is clear that he used his wife & children's name to take accommodation entries and layered the illegal cash and acquired landed assets for the purpose of laundering the PoC. He has also handled the proceeds of crime and helped Suryakant Tiwari in concealing of the same. As per the entries found in the diaries seized, it is clear that there are direct transactions worth Rs. 26 crore in his own name. He has also acquired some properties in his name to acquire immovable properties infusing the proceeds of crime over and above the registered value of property. The registered value of property identified so far, acquired out of proceeds of crime is estimated to be Rs. 13,36,000/- only. Unaccounted cash was layered in these purchases. Thus, the worth of these assets which were purchased and then sold to Sunil Agarwal, is nothing but PoC in the hands of Laxmikant Tiwari is covered in the definition as per Section 2(1)u of PMLA, 2002.

5. It is also case of the prosecution that the present applicant in his statement recorded under Section 50(2) and 50(3) of the PMLA, 2002 has admitted that upon receiving advance information regarding apprehension of ED raid, he got a call from his nephew