THE Enforcement Directorate’s Raipur Zonal Office (EDRPZO) on Wednesday filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) before the Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act ( P M L A ) , Raipur, against Krishna Kumar Srivastava alias K K Srivastava, taking its investigation into an alleged Rs 15-crore fake Raipur Smart City subcontract fraud to the prosecution stage. The development came a day after ED provisionally attached movable and immovable properties valued at approximately Rs 3.25 crore on September 22 in connection with alleged proceeds of crime. The money-laundering investigation originated from an FIR registered at Telibandha Police Station, Raipur. Chhattisgarh Police subsequently filed a charge-sheet concerning offences including cheating, forgery, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy. At the centre of ED’s case is an alleged deception dating to June 2023. According to the agency, Srivastava induced the owner of M/s Rawat Associates to part with Rs 15 crore after claiming that he could secure a subcontract in a Raipur Smart City project valued at approximately Rs 500 crore. The amount was allegedly sought as “performance security”, while investigators maintain that the purported project offer was false.

 

The subsequent movement of the money forms a crucial component of ED’s laundering case. Investigators found that the Rs 15 crore was deposited into five bank accounts whose particulars had been communicated through WhatsApp. ED alleges that these accounts were fraudulently opened without the knowledge of persons shown as their holders. Verification further revealed that companies in whose names the accounts stood did not exist at their registered addresses. Investigators allege that the funds were thereafter moved through a chain of shell and conduit companies, creating multiple financial layers before portions were ultimately remitted abroad to Dubai, Hong Kong, China and Singapore. The overseas transfers were allegedly disguised as commercial payments, including freight charges and container leasing. Another significant element concerns approximately Rs 3.40 crore subsequently returned to the victim. ED alleges that this repayment was itself made from the laundered funds and projected as a genuine return of money. Approximately Rs 11.60 crore of the original amount remains unpaid. Srivastava was arrested by ED on July 30 under Section 19 of PMLA and produced before the Special PMLA Court, which remanded him to ED