The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued eviction orders and taken possession of assets worth more than Rs 152 crore as part of a money laundering investigation into an alleged illegal coal levy case. These assets, including movable and immovable properties, belong to former Chhattisgarh government bureaucrat Saumya Chaurasia, IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi, coal trader Suryakant Tiwari, and others. The attachment of these properties was done by the ED in December last year under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED’s investigation is related to allegations of a massive scam in which an illegal levy of Rs 25 was being extorted for every tonne of coal transported in Chhattisgarh by a cartel involving senior bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians, and middlemen. The Adjudicating Authority of the PMLA confirmed the attachment order on June 1 after giving an opportunity to all the defendants and hearing arguments from both sides.

According to the ED, it has taken possession of 81 immovable properties and issued eviction notices for ten immovable properties in accordance with the PMLA (taking possession of attached or frozen properties confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority) Rules, 2013. These properties include flats, jewellery, coal washeries, and plots, and are beneficially owned by Chaurasia, Vishnoi, Suryakant Tiwari, and another coal trader Sunil Agarwal.

So far, nine people, including Chaurasia, Suryakant Tiwari, Chhattisgarh-cadre IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi, and Laxmikant Tiwari, have been arrested by the ED.

Read More: [Chhattisgarh Coal Levy Case: ED Issues Eviction Orders, Takes Possession of Assets](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/chhattisgarh-coal-levy-case-ed-issues-eviction-orders-takes-possession-of-assets/articleshow/101170140.cms)