Staff Reporter

 

 

Five days after its massive July 30–31 multi-city search and seizure operation in the Rs 411 crore Chhattisgarh Medical Services Corporation Limited (CGMSCL) scam, the Enforcement Directorate Raipur Zonal Office (ED-RPZO) on Tuesday shared its explosive findings-confirming the seizure and freezing of assets worth over Rs 40 crore under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The two-day action had covered 20 premises across Chhattisgarh, including residences and offices linked to Mokshit Corporation director Shashaank Chopra, his family members, associated business entities, and certain State government officials. According to ED, the properties seized or frozen include bank balances, fixed deposits, shares in demat accounts, and high-end premium vehicles-all identified as Proceeds of Crime (PoC).

 

The five-day gap between the raids and today’s disclosure was used for tedious quantification and meticulous scrutiny of voluminous documents, digital files, and banking records recovered during the operations. According to an official communique issued by ED-RPZO, the final valuation was pegged at Rs 40 crore-plus, excluding other PoC still under forensic verification. As per the federal agency communique, the ED investigation stems from an FIR filed by the State Economic Offences Investigation and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SEOIACB) against Mokshit Corporation and senior officials of CGMSCL and the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) for alleged criminal conspiracy and corruption. The SEOIACB has already filed a chargesheet before the competent court detailing how Chopra, in alleged collusion with top DHS and CGMSCL officials, manipulated tender processes, fabricated procurement demand, and supplied medical equipment and reagents at grossly inflated prices.

 

The ED’s financial probe has revealed that CGMSCL tenders were allegedly secured by Mokshit Corporation through pool tendering and cartel formation with certain officials and selected firms. Inflated supply contracts generated substantial illicit gains for the accused and inflicted corresponding losses on the State exchequer. The July 30–31 search-ops-steered by ED-RPZO Joint Director Prabhakar Prabhat and supported by a pan-zone team from Raipur, Nagpur, Ranchi, and Vizag-were backed by 56 armed CRPF personnel to secure all sites. These covered 10 residential and 8 commercial premises across Durg, Raipur, and Bilaspur, along with offices of linked firms and associates. Apart from the frozen and seized assets, investigators recovered incriminating paper trails, high-value property records, and digital devices indicating suspicious transactions, hidden beneficiary layers, and utilisation of PoC in luxury asset acquisitions and investments. Early forensic scans of the devices have traced encrypted ledgers and communications linking the scam proceeds to multiple private individuals and entities.

 

An ED official privy to the investigation told The Hitavada that the seized records “mark a turning point in connecting financial trails to specific decision-making nodes within the scam’s operational chain.” He added that custodial interrogation of Chopra-currently lodged in Raipur Central Jail following his SEOIACB arrest in January-is being considered to unearth additional beneficiaries and trace missing PoC. “With multiple investigative threads still open, the ED confirmed that further action, including attachments of immovable properties and possible arrests, will follow as the probe expands into the wider network of conspirators,” the communique concluded.