ED attaches Rs 25-cr worth assets of TN criminal

New Delhi, February 18 dmanewsdesk:  Properties worth about Rs 25 crore of a Tamil Nadu-based criminal charged with multiple cases of murder, extortion and dacoity have been attached under the anti-money laundering law, the ED said on Friday.

Seventy nine land assets located in sub-urban Chennai “belonging to and in the benami names of PPGD Sankar” have been attached, it said.

The market value of these properties is around Rs 25 crore.

Sankar faces at least 15 police FIRs and three chargesheets for offences like murder, extortion, robbery, dacoity and criminal conspiracy, the Enforcement Directorate said in a statement.

“ED unearthed various benami properties of PPGD Sankar which were purchased by him out of cash generated from extortion…he could not explain any legal source of cash payments for acquiring the property and confessed during the course of investigation that such money, which was used by him to acquire 79 properties, was not generated from any legal business but by extortion of various people over the period of time,” the ED claimed.

The accused, it said, adopted a “unique model” of projecting the “proceeds of crime” by registering the properties by way of general power of attorney (GPA) in his name and keeping the ownership in his benami names in the official documents.

“The GPA was used as an alternative for sale deeds. He had made the payment for such properties but did not register the properties in his name to safeguard himself, as there are many cases by police going on against him,” it said.

Source: PTI