J&K fake arms licences case: ED attaches assets worth Rs 4.69 crore

The Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth Rs 4.69 crore, including bank balance, plots, flats and residential houses, in connection with the J&K fake arms licences case.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 4.69 crore in connection with the J&K fake arms licences case, officials said.

The attached assets include bank balance, plots, flats and residential houses. The ED had initiated the money laundering investigation on the basis of FIRs registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against several serving as well as retired bureaucrats, government officials, arms and ammunition dealers of Jammu and Kashmir.

The ED has alleged that the government functionaries of J&K, in connivance with many arms dealers, brokers of J&K, brazenly flouted the norms, procedure and rules for issuing arms licenses. The agency claimed that the said officials did this in lieu of monetary considerations by abuse of their official position as public servants and generated huge amount of proceeds of crime.

“Investigation conducted so far revealed that the government officials used to take commission from arms dealers and brokers directly in their bank accounts and in the bank accounts of their family members for getting arms licenses issued as well as renewals for defence personnel,” said the ED in a statement.

Recently, searches were conducted by the ED at 11 premises in J&K at the residential premises of government functionaries and arms dealers, which led to seizure of cash and gold jewellery worth more than Rs. 2.50 crore. The officials also recovered various incriminating materials including property documents.

The ED suspects that tentative proceeds of crime in this case is expected to be to the tune of Rs 40 crore.