The ED’s Raipur Zonal Office has arrested Ramgopal Agarwal under the PMLA, 2002, in connection with the Chhattisgarh liquor scam case. Ramgopal Agarwal, who was lodged in Raipur Central Jail as an undertrial prisoner, was arrested on August 11, 2026, and produced before the Hon’ble Special Court (PMLA), Raipur. The Hon’ble Court has remanded him to ED custody for a period of 7 days, until August 18, 2026. He was the then Treasurer of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Raipur Zonal Office has arrested Ramgopal Agarwal under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in connection with the Chhattisgarh liquor scam case. Ramgopal Agarwal, who was lodged as an undertrial prisoner in Raipur Central Jail, was arrested on 11.08.2026 under Section 19 of the PMLA and produced before the Hon’ble Special Court (PMLA), Raipur. The Hon’ble Court has remanded him to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate for a period of 7 days till 18.08.2026. He was the then Treasurer of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee.
The ED initiated this investigation based on an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing/Anti-Corruption Bureau (EOW/ACB), Raipur, and the subsequent charge sheet and supplementary charge sheets filed before the Hon’ble Special Court (PC Act), Raipur. The charges include criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and corruption in the excise administration of the State of Chhattisgarh during the period from 2019 to 2023.
The ED investigation revealed that a syndicate comprising Anil Tuteja (retired IAS), Anwar Debor and Arunpati Tripathi (ITS) had perpetrated a massive scam in the state’s liquor trade and generated proceeds of crime of approximately Rs 3,000 crore through illegal commission on accounted liquor sales, sale of unaccounted country liquor, annual commission collected from distillers and foreign liquor companies and commission for grant of FL-10A licences.
The investigation further revealed that a major portion of the proceeds of the said crime, which was generated in cash, was given to Ramgopal Agarwal in his capacity as the then Treasurer of Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee.
The statements recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA, 2002, of the persons who handled and transferred the cash, revealed that the said cash was delivered to Rajiv Bhawan in Raipur, which was then the office of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee, by the persons handling the cash on the instructions of Ramgopal Agrawal and through a syndicate. He failed to appear in response to four summons issued under Section 50 of the PMLA, 2002, and gave evasive answers in his subsequent statement.
Further investigation is underway.
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.