Chhattisgarh liquor scam: ED arrests former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested former Chhattisgarh excise minister and incumbent Congress MLA Kawasi Lakhma in liquor scam.

Last month, the Enforcement Directorate had said Kawasi Lakhma was the main recipient of proceeds of crime in cash during his regime as excise minister in the previous Congress government in the state.

Lakhma used to "receive" a substantial amount in cash on a monthly basis out of proceeds of crime generated from the alleged liquor scam estimated to be around ₹2,161 crore, the agency had said.

ED investigation into the liquor scam, which ran between 2019 to 2022, had revealed that proceeds of crime were generated as illegal commissions which were generated in multiple ways.

The bribe was collected from the distillers per 'case' of liquor procured from them by the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL), a state body for the purchase and sale of liquor, the agency had said.

Sale of unaccounted "kacha off-the-books" country liquor was another way to generate illegal money, claimed the agency, adding "In this case, not even a single rupee reached the State Exchequer, and all the sale proceeds were pocketed by the syndicate. The illegal liquor was sold from state-run shops only".

"Bribes are taken from distillers to allow them to make a cartel and have fixed market share, and holders who were introduced to earn in foreign liquor segment also," the ED had said.

In December, the ED made the revelations two days after its Raipur unit conducted search operations at seven premises situated in Raipur, Dhamtari and Sukma districts of Chhattisgarh under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in the liquor scam case.

In the search operation conducted on December 28, ED raided the residential premises of Kawasi Lakhma, a six-time Congress MLA. The searches were also conducted at the residential premises of his son Harish Lakhma and their close associates.