VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, Feb. 22: The special CBI court of Sudhanshu Kumar Shashi has directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to start a money-laundering probe against former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and others who were convicted in fodder scam case RC 47 A/96.
In this case, related to the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 139.35 crores from the Doranda treasury of Ranchi, the court on February 15 held Lalu Prasad and 74 others guilty of the offense. The court awarded five years of rigorous imprisonment and Rs 60 lakh to Lalu Prasad.
In the judgment, the court said that properties created from the proceeds of the crime by the convicts and dead accused persons of this case could not be identified. But it may be a subject matter of investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, the court said.
“The Enforcement Directorate, if wishes so, and if law permits, may proceed for identification and confiscation of such properties/assets created by convicts or dead accused persons by the ill-gotten money. Thus, the prosecution (CBI) is directed to provide a copy of this judgment, FIR and charge-sheet etc. of this case to the Enforcement Directorate for taking necessary action on their part,” the judgment reads.
The court has said that even the properties of the dead accused should be investigated. Well-placed sources confided the ED has acknowledged the court direction and necessary actions are being taken.
In the judicial history of the trial of fodder scam cases worth Rs 950 Crore, this is the third case where the court had directed the ED for a money-laundering probe against fodder scam convicts and dead accused.
Lalu Prasad already facing money-laundering probe
Notably, a few weeks back the Enforcement Directorate had started a money-laundering probe against Lalu and other convicts of two separate fodder scam cases.
It took up RC 38 A/ 96 and RC 45/96 where the judgments were delivered by Shivpal Singh, the judge of the special CBI court in Ranchi on March 19, 2018, and April 9, 2018, respectively.
Lalu was among 19 accused who were convicted in the case RC 38 A/ 96 related to the illegal withdrawal of Rs 3.76 crore from the treasury of Deoghar district. The court had handed over separate sentencing of seven years of rigorous imprisonment under provisions of IPC and Prevention of the Corruption Act along with a fine of Rs 60 lakh to Lalu Prasad.
The court had directed the ED to confiscate the disproportionate movable and immovable property of convicts and 13 deceased accused which had been acquired since January 1990 and later on.
In RC 45A/ 96, the court had passed a similar order related to the illegal withdrawal of Rs 34.91 crore from the Dumka treasury. A total of 37 accused were convicted whereas 17 accused persons had died during the trial hence proceedings against them were dropped. The court directed the ED to confiscate the disproportionate movable and immovable property of convicts and the deceased accused.
About the deceased accused in both the cases, the court said even if they died, they can’t be freed from civil liabilities, and the properties found in the possession of the deceased accused or their relatives may be confiscated.
It may be a matter of legal debate whether provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) can be applied to a crime committed much before the PMLA was enacted. But it has triggered trouble for Lalu Prasad Yadav who so far has been convicted in five fodder scam cases and the trial of the sixth case is going on.
