A special court in Ahmedabad has convicted former IAS officer Pradeep Nirankarnath Sharma for money laundering and sentenced him to five years in prison. Sharma served as District Collector of Bhuj and Chairman of the District Land Pricing Committee from 2003 to 2006. The court found that Sharma, as DLPC chief, unlawfully allotted government land in Varshmedi village to Welspun India Ltd. and its group firms at much lower rates of ₹15 to ₹18 per square metre instead of the government-fixed ₹78 per square metre. This caused a financial loss of ₹1.2 crore to the government. The Enforcement Directorate’s probe revealed that Sharma laundered money by directing illegal payments through his wife, Shyamal P. Sharma. She was made a 30% partner in Value Packaging Private Limited, linked to the Welspun Group, without any initial investment. The court noted, “An amount of ₹22 lakh, received in her NRO account with Bank of India, and ₹7.5 lakh as a goodwill payment, are alleged to be illegal gratification.” The funds were reportedly used to repay a housing loan in Gandhinagar and buy agricultural land in Dehgam. The investigation also uncovered ‘hawala’ transactions where about ₹1 crore was sent to the U.S. via illegal channels. Money was also received by Shyamal Sharma's U.S. bank accounts from third parties. The court emphasized the gravity of the offenses, stating, “The accused was an IAS officer holding the post of District Collector and District Magistrate and has misused his official position by indulging into corrupt practice and also indulging himself in offence of money laundering.” Rejecting Sharma’s request to run sentences concurrently, the court said, “Both the offences under Prevention of Corruption Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act are different statutes ... considering the seriousness and gravity of offence, the Court does not find any justifiable reason to direct concurrency of sentence.” Pradeep Nirankarnath Sharma’s conviction marks a decisive step in India’s fight against high-profile corruption and money laundering.