Chautala’s flat attached by court

A special money laundering court has ordered attachment of a residential property of former Haryana chief minister O P Chautala,noting that the purchase of the asset was from proceeds of crime of the teachers recruitment scam. The court issued the directive on the complaint of the Enforcement Directorate (ED),which had seized the flat in May this year under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

On a thorough perusal of the order of the honourable Delhi Hi-gh Court,the FIR and chargesheet of CBI,the investigations conducted by the ED and the statements recorded under section 50 of PMLA and on careful consideration of the arguments advanced on behalf of the complainant and the defendants,we come to the prima facie conclusion that the defendants (Chautala) have committed the scheduled offences,generated proceeds of crime and laundered them, a Bench of chairman K Raamamoorthy and member Mukesh Kumar of the Adjudicating Authority of PMLA said in its order.

No doubt the properties attached are proceeds of crime and are involved in money laundering. We,therefore,order confirmation of the provisional attachment order, the Bench added.