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Accused property may be confiscated

By R Dutta Choudhury - 15 Sep 2010 12:00 AM GMT

GUWAHATI, Aug 5 � With the Directorate of Enforcement getting involved in the probe into the financial scam in North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council, those involved in the scam may face attachment and even confiscation of their properties.

Highly placed official sources told The Assam Tribune that if any of those involved acquired properties abroad with the funds of the Council, the Government of India can even ask the Government of the concerned country for the attachment of such properties under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

Sources said that the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, came into effect in India from July 1, 2005 and it was amended again in June last year to make the provisions more stringent. The punishment under the provisions of the Act can be two fold � as in addition to punishment for the crime, there is also provision for confiscation of the properties acquired with the proceeds of the crime. One of the major features of the Act is that the burden of proof lies on the accused and not on the investigating agency, which gives more teeth to the investigating agency.

Sources revealed that as during its investigation of a case relating to siphoning off of the NC Hills Autonomous Council funds to the coffers of the militants, the National Investigating Agency (NIA) found that large scale money laundering took place in the Council for years, the Directorate of Enforcement registered a case in December last year under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and investigations are now on. The case was registered on the basis of the FIR and charge sheet of the NIA.

Official sources said that the Enforcement Directorate has already obtained permission from the court to examine the accused in the jail. Of the 14 accused named in the case, 12 are in Central Jail, Guwahati, one is in Nagaon jail and one is out on bail. The Directorate has already questioned the one out on bail and the process of questioning those in the jail will start soon.

Sources revealed that it is now a well established fact that large scale money laundering took place in NC Hills over the years and the militants, particularly those belonging to the DHD (J), commonly known as the Black Widow group, which used to receive a substantial portion of the Council funds, also used to transfer huge amounts of money to procure weapons. During the course of the investigations, efforts would be made to unearth the process used by the militants to transfer money to different parts. For that, the Directorate of Enforcement will question Jewel Garlosa and Niranjan Hojai, the chairman and commander in chief respectively of the Black Widow group.

During the process of the investigations, efforts would be made to get details of the lists of properties of those accused and to ascertain whether the properties were acquired with the proceeds of the crime. If the same is proved, the accused will face attachment and even confiscation of the properties acquired with the proceeds of the crime, sources added. Referring to newspaper reports that Niranjan Hojai even acquired properties in Nepal, sources said that if the reports are found to be correct, the Government of India can move Nepal Government for confiscation of said properties.

It may be mentioned here that Niranjan Hojai, who, along with other members of the outfit surrendered weapons before Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to come forward for solution of the problems through talks, escaped from the designated camp in violation of the cease fire ground rules and he was finally arrested in Nepal recently and is now under judicial custody in connection with the case of the NIA.