ED, Imphal Sub-Zonal Office has provisionally attached two immovable properties, being homestead lands along with the residential buildings constructed thereon, situated in Kangpokpi district and Imphal East district of Manipur, having a total value of Rs.1.99 Crore (approx.) under PMLA, 2002 in the case of Seikholen Kipgen, then Inspector, Customs & Central Excise and others, matter related to possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Imphal Sub-Zonal Office has provisionally attached two immovable properties, being homestead lands along with the residential buildings constructed thereon, situated in Kangpokpi district and Imphal East district of Manipur, having a total value of Rs.1.99 Crore (approx.) under the provisions of Section 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in the case of Seikholen Kipgen, then Inspector, Customs & Central Excise, and others.
ED initiated investigation on the basis of FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), Imphal against Seikholen Kipgen under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, on the allegations of possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. CBI, ACB, Imphal has also filed Charge-sheet dated 22.12.2022 before the Competent Special Court in respect of the scheduled offence.
ED investigation revealed that during the check period from 01.01.2015 to 03.12.2021, the assets of Seikholen Kipgen and his family members increased substantially and were found to be disproportionate to his known sources of income to the tune of Rs.1.99 Crore (approx.). It was also revealed that unaccounted funds earned from illegitimate sources were kept by Seikholen Kipgen with his father-in-law for safe custody, who deposited the said funds into his bank account and subsequently transferred the same to Seikholen Kipgen, his wife or third parties, or made payments directly to vendors on his instructions. The said funds, so layered and routed, were utilised for the purchase of land in the name of his wife and the construction of the residential building thereon, and were projected as untainted money in the guise of a gift from the father-in-law, who was prima facie a mere conduit having no independent financial capacity to make such a gift.
ED investigation further revealed that illicit/unaccounted funds constituting Proceeds of Crime were utilised for the acquisition and/or construction of immovable properties, one of which is held in the name of Seikholen Kipgen and the other in the name of his wife, Smt. Vahneithem Lucy Kipgen. Accordingly, the said properties have been provisionally attached as representing the value of Proceeds of Crime under the PMLA, 2002.
Further investigation is under progress.
Radhika Goyal is Author of Taxconcept Gurugram head office, for deeply reported tax, gst and income tax articles on issues that matter. He splits her time between New Delhi and Bengaluru, and has worked as a reporter, a podcaster and an editor for publications across India.