The Enforcement Directorate, Raipur Zonal Office (ED-RPZO), has filed a prosecution complaint of 7,000 pages before the Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The complaint details financial transactions linked to former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s son Chaitanya Baghel alias Bittu, identifying how unaccounted funds were placed in the financial system, layered through different entities, and projected as legitimate investments. The disclosures are part of the wider Rs 3,200 crore liquor scam, the scale of which was pegged by the State Economic Offences Investigation and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SEOIACB). ‘The Hitavada’ has accessed the 99-page summary of the prosecution complaint. This summary condenses the key findings, including names of individuals, entities, amounts involved, and the method of fund transfers examined by the ED. According to the complaint, a cash payment of Rs 5 crore was made directly to Chaitanya Baghel. In addition, an entry of Rs 2 crore was arranged through Laxmi Narayan Bansal, which was recorded as equity in the “Vitthal Green” project.

 

The ED notes that this entry was used to introduce illicit funds into project accounts under the guise of legitimate investment. The complaint further records that Rs 5 crore was shown as a loan from Saheli Jewellers. ED’s scrutiny of statements and records found that the loan was not from genuine commercial activity but was sourced from cash deposits made by intermediaries, later rotated through accounts and shown as a financial transaction. The prosecution complaint also includes the statement of Laxmi Narayan Bansal @ Laxmi Narayan Agrawal @ Pappu Bansal @ Pappu, recorded under Section 50 of PMLA. In this statement, he admitted that he had handled more than Rs 1000 crore worth of proceeds of crime originating from the liquor scam in association with Chaitanya Baghel. He stated that these funds were delivered to Ram Gopal Agarwal.

 

The complaint records that Ram Gopal Agarwal was then Treasurer of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee (CPCC) and is currently absconding. It further notes that multiple summons have been issued to him, but he has not joined the investigation. A further sum of Rs 5 crore was routed through companies linked with Trilok Singh Dhillon. The prosecution complaint specifies that these firms were operated through benami structures, and funds were layered through them before being placed into the project. The ED also identified Rs 10 crore in cash payments made directly to vendors engaged in project work. These payments were not carried out through formal banking channels but were subsequently shown in the project accounts as expenses. Based on these transactions, the complaint concludes that Rs 18.90 crore was laundered into the Vitthal Green project.

 

The methods included direct cash placement, accommodation entries through entry operators, loans from jewellers, and transfers via firms with benami ownership. The prosecution complaint contains a flowchart on page 67 of the summary, setting out each element of the trail. Together, these total Rs 18.90 crore, which the ED has categorised as proceeds of crime projected as untainted property. The complaint states that these amounts were sourced from proceeds of the liquor business in Chhattisgarh, which is under investigation as part of a scam valued at Rs 3,200 crore. The ED has submitted that the acts recorded in the complaint constitute laundering of proceeds of crime under Section 3 of the PMLA, punishable under Section 4 of the Act.

 

The summary records that the ED relied on bank account statements, project records, entries traced through intermediaries, and statements of persons involved, including entry operators and jewellers. The layering cycle included both recorded bank entries and unrecorded cash payments, which were later merged into project accounts. The prosecution complaint also records that the ED has recommended attachment of properties linked to the Vitthal Green project and freezing of accounts to prevent further transfer or disposal of assets. The Special Court has taken cognisance of the prosecution complaint and proceedings are underway under PMLA provisions. The complaint establishes that the financial trail connected to Chaitanya is not isolated but is part of the larger laundering of liquor scam proceeds. It identifies the individuals and entities used for layering, the amounts transferred, and the method of integration.