Dhebar & IAS officer Tuteja ‘kingpin’ of ₹2000Cr liquor scam, states ED

Raipur: The Enforcement Directorate, which is investigating the multi-crore "liquor scam" in Chhattisgarh, revealed on Sunday that it has unearthed corruption and money laundering amounting to more than Rs 2,000 crore by a syndicate that controlled and manipulated the entire chain of the liquor trade in the state. The syndicate was led by IAS officer Anil Tuteja and Anwar Dhebar, elder brother of Raipur mayor Ajaz Debar.ED claimed that the syndicate levied a commission per case of bottles, manufactured and supplied unaccounted country-made liquor, besides fixing an annual commission for obtaining distillery licenses, and distillers paid bribes as per the percentage of market share allotted to them.A day after ED arrested Anwar Dhebar, under PMLA 2002 in the alleged liquor scam case, the central agency issued a statement saying that the PMLA investigation revealed an organized crime syndicate led by Dhebar."Though a private citizen, Dhebar was backed by and was working for the illegal gratification of high-level political executives and senior bureaucrats. He weaved an elaborate conspiracy and stitched a wide network of persons/entities to execute the scam so that money was illegally collected from every bottle of liquor sold in Chhattisgarh," the ED statement said, adding that excise departments are mandated to regulate the supply of liquor, ensure quality liquor to users, prevent hooch tragedies, and earn revenue for the state. But the investigation revealed that the criminal syndicate led by Anwar Dhebar has turned upside down all these objectives.It further read that the ED had earlier conducted searches at multiple locations in the month of March and had recorded the statements of various persons involved in the process and had collected evidence of unprecedented corruption and money laundering to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore between 2019-2022.According to the ED statement, the syndicate collected illegal money at three different levels in the state, and it elaborated as follows— A commission of Rs. 75-150 per case (depending on the type of liquor) was fastidiously charged by the syndicate from the suppliers for each accounted cash procured by CSMC, Anwar Dhebar, in conspiracy with others, started getting manufactured unaccounted country-made kacha off-the-books liquor and selling the same through government-run shops. This way, they could keep the entire sale proceeds without depositing even one rupee in the state exchequer. Liquor was transported directly from the distiller to shops bypassing state warehouses. ED investigation revealed that between 2019 and 2022, this kind of illegal sale was almost 30% -40% of the total sale of liquor in the state. This generated Rs 1,200-Rs 1,500 crore in illegal profits.Thirdly, this was an annual commission paid by the main distillers for getting a distillery license and a fixed share in the market purchase of CSMCL. Distillers used to pay bribes as per the percentage of market share allotted to them. Procurement was done strictly in this ratio by CSMCL.In Chhattisgarh, the state controls all the aspects of the liquor trade from procurement to retail sale to the consumer. No private liquor shops are allowed. All 800 liquor shops are run by the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL).With the support of the political executives, Dhebar managed to get a pliant commissioner and MD of CSMCL, and hired close associates like Vikas Agarwal, Subbu and Arvind Singh to make the system completely subservient to him, the statement said.Anwar Dhebar is responsible for collection of this entire illegal money but is not the ultimate beneficiary of this scam. It is established that after deducting a percentage, he had passed on the remaining amounts to his political masters.“Earlier, ED had conducted search operations at 35 locations across Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Delhi including the residential premises of Anwar Dhebar. However, he slipped out of a secret trap door and did not participate in the search. He was summoned on 7 occasions but did not join the investigation. He was continuously using benami SIM cards, internet dongles, changing locations and after sustained surveillance was zeroed in on a Hotel room of his close associate. He was produced before the PMLA Special Judge of Raipur, who has remanded him to 4 days of ED custody,” ED stated.
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