₹34 Cr seized: ED targets alleged misappropriation of Assam workers' welfare funds

Guwahati, August 24: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached bank and fixed deposits worth ₹34 crore under the anti-money laundering law (AML) in connection with the alleged misappropriation of funds meant for the welfare of construction workers in Assam.

The ED stated that the case involves the “fraudulent” allocation of contracts worth ₹118 crore by the Assam Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (ABOCWWB) to one Purbashree Printing House, a firm owned by Priyanshu Boiragi, during the period of 2013-16.

The attached amount follows searches related to the misappropriation of government funds.

“This is a case of misappropriation of money collected as cess for the welfare of construction workers. During the searches, various incriminating documents and materials were seized,” the ED said in a statement.

However, the ED did not specify when the searches were conducted.

An FIR was lodged by the Chief Minister’s Special Vigilance Cell, and the police have filed charges against former Labour Commissioner and ABOCWWB Member Secretary IAS Officer Chohan Doley, Boiragi, ABOCWWB ex-Chairman Gautam Baruwa, and former ABOCWWB Administrative Officer Nagendra Nath Choudhury.

Choudhury is alleged to have secured high-value printing contracts from ABOCWWB through forged and fraudulent tendering processes.

The federal agency claimed that Boiragi invested the ₹118 crore proceeds of crime into fixed deposits in his name and transferred the remaining balance to various bank accounts linked to him and several shell entities.