On 22 December 2017, Ramankant Mishra, the Assistant Solicitor General of India (ASG) announced that Rs 47 lakh in cash had been recovered from IAS Sameer Vishnoi’s house and Rs 1.5 crore in concealment had been recovered from Laxmikant Tiwari’s house.
Mishra further added that gold and diamonds had been recovered from Vishnoi’s place. The officials said that the probe in the case had begun in October last year based on information provided by Madhya Pradesh Anti-Corruption Bureau.’
Government officials had reportedly imposed illegal levies on businessmen and property dealers in return for helping them obtain various government approvals for their business projects.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is a central agency responsible for enforcing two anti-money laundering Acts: the PML Act of 2002 and the Securities Laws (Regulation) Act of 1956. ED’s mandate is to enforce the provisions of the PMLA, by investigating and prosecuting money laundering activities; issuing notices and directions to banks, financial institutions, and intermediaries such as stock exchanges, mutual funds, etc., for freezing accounts of persons who are under probe for suspicious transactions; initiating attachment proceedings against such accounts.