Koda can of worms opened during probe into Governor’s aide

Officials said the subsequent arrest of two of Koda’s Cabinet colleagues Enos Ekka and Hari Narain Rai followed the Vigilance chargesheet. Similar action is expected against Koda after the second chargesheet is filed within a month.

During their interrogation,the two Ministers — they were in ED custody for 10 days — are said to have admitted to owning 53 properties across the country. Sources said that with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) being invoked,attachment of these properties will soon begin.

The exact scale of the money laundering isn’t known but there’s evidence to show this could be the biggest case under PMLA. Reason: Documents seized from Mumbai company Balaji Bullion — of which Koda’s aides Binod Kumar Sinha,Sanjay Chaudhary and Manoj Punamia are directors — reveal alleged hawala transactions amounting to Rs 990 crore.

And papers seized from Arvind Vyas,described as a close associate of Binod Kumar Sinha,indicate transfers of $10 million to Dubai. More than 100 bank accounts are under scrutiny.

Koda is said to have confirmed his visits to Dubai,Indonesia,Thailand,Singapore and Liberia but has refrained from elaborating on why he went there. As scores of investigators from ED and the Income Tax Department pore over transaction papers recovered from over 65 premises searched last week,the agencies will move for look-out notices at all airports to prevent the suspects from fleeing.

Besides the direct acquisition of a coal mine in Liberia,agencies are probing how Koda recommended names of his associates for award of mining contracts in Jharkhand when he was CM. The process of “clearances” will also come under the scanner.