The Enforcement Directorate has accused businessman Anwar Dhebar, the elder brother of Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar, as the “main collection agent and front man” of an illegal liquor syndicate in Chhattisgarh comprising high-level government officials, private persons and political executives that generated corruption money of more than Rs 2,000 crore.
According to the ED’s investigation, between 2019 and 2022, nearly 30-40% of all liquor sales in the state were for unaccounted and illicit liquor.
The ED on Saturday filed an application in a special court in Raipur, seeking remand of liquor businessman Anwar Dhebar, and stating that a syndicate comprising high-level state government officials, private individuals, and political executives was involved in a massive liquor trade scam in Chhattisgarh. The ED also claimed that this syndicate generated more than Rs 2,000 crore in corruption money.
Anwar Dhebar is the elder brother of Congress leader and Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar. The ED arrested Anwar Dhebar on Saturday. The special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court subsequently sent him in four-day custody of the ED.
The ED also accused Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Anil Tuteja as the “kingpin” of an illegal liquor syndicate.
ED’s Money Laundering Investigation
Last year, the agency initiated an investigation against Tuteja and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on a prosecution complaint (charge sheet) filed by the Income Tax Department in a Delhi court against Tuteja and his associates, according to the ED.
The ED alleged that a criminal syndicate was operating in Chhattisgarh and illegally collecting bribes by controlling the high-level management of key state departments, particularly the excise department (which deals with liquor) and state public sector undertakings (PSUs).
The syndicate was made up of high-level state government officials, private individuals, and political executives, according to the ED, with Tuteja serving as the kingpin and managing the syndicate’s affairs alongside Anwar.
“Huge amount of corruption was happening in the excise department and hundreds of crores of cash was being collected from every possible point of access in a distributed hierarchical manner. The syndicate, after keeping its cut, passed on the final loot for the benefit of political executives and for electioneering…,” it said.
Anwar served as the main collection agent and frontman for the syndicate. The agency presented digital evidence showing that Anwar delivered Rs 14.41 crore to Tuteja. The ED’s application stated that the syndicate collected illegal money in three ways from liquor sales in Chhattisgarh: charging illegal commission from liquor suppliers for their accounted sales in the state, selling off-the-record unaccounted country liquor (which is popular in Chhattisgarh) from state-run shops, and receiving an annual commission for allowing distillers to operate in the state.
Anwar’s Role Post Excise Policy Amendment in 2017
The excise policy in the state was amended in 2017 and the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL) was thus created with the responsibility to retail liquor in the state through its stores.
According to the ED, in May 2019, Anwar had a role in appointing Arunpati Tripathi as the managing director of CSMCL. Tripathi was tasked with maximizing the bribe commission collected on liquor purchased by CSMCL and arranging for the sale of non-duty paid liquor in corporation-run shops.
The ED alleged that Anwar and senior IAS officers supported Tripathi in this operation. The agency’s investigation revealed that in 2019, Anwar called a meeting to determine the commission on the sale of country liquor. At this meeting, distillers were required to pay a commission of Rs 75 per case for its procurement by CSMCL. In exchange, Anwar promised to increase their “landing rates” proportionally.
The ED alleged that the syndicate agreed upon this system and began collecting a significant amount of commission on the sale of accounted liquor cases. Anwar received the majority of the collected amount, which he reportedly shared with a political party.
The ED claimed that a sinister scheme was established to produce and distribute unaccounted illicit liquor. This unaccounted liquor was sold through state-run shops using duplicate holograms and bottles. The liquor was directly transported from the distiller to the shops, bypassing state warehouses, and the entire sale was conducted in cash. The ED alleged that excise officials were involved in this operation.
“No income tax and no excise duty, etc were paid. The entire sale was off the books. The entire sale consideration was siphoned off with each person getting its share including distiller, transporter, hologram maker, bottle maker, excise official, higher echelons of excise department, Anwar Dhebar, senior IAS officer(s) and politicians,” it said.
Unaccounted Liquor 30-40% of State’s Total Sales
According to the ED’s investigation, the illegal sale of unaccounted liquor constituted almost 30-40% of the total liquor sales in the state from 2019 to 2022. After paying the distillers and local excise officers, Anwar allegedly kept the maximum remaining amount and distributed the rest to politicians as per the directions of the highest political executives in the state. The ED claimed that massive corruption has taken place in the excise department of Chhattisgarh since 2019 and this syndicate has generated over Rs 2,000 crore in corruption money.
‘Anwar Dhebar Not the Ultimate Beneficiary’
According to the ED, Anwar is not the ultimate beneficiary of all the illegal money generated in this case. He is a private individual with no official position in the government and is simply taking advantage of his proximity to the mayor of Raipur and the ruling political party (Congress). The agency also alleged that Anwar has sent his associate Vikas Agrawal to Dubai and all the illegally obtained money has been invested there to hide it from authorities. However, Anwar’s lawyer Rahul Tyagi has claimed that the investigation against his client appears to be politically motivated.
(With inputs from PTI)
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