The recent raid by Patna zone ED, earlier this month, is a glaring reminder of the cunning schemes involved in money laundering. The ED raided 13 locations across cities in Bihar in connection with a money laundering investigation. The case involved a 1997-batch IAS officer Sanjeev Hans and former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA Gulab Yadav. They have been under judicial custody since October 18. However, what the probe unearthed was nothing short of a financial labyrinth, designed to hide illicit wealth.
The major discoveries include a Demat account holding a stunning Rs 60 crore worth of shares. As per reports, it is linked to a family member of one of Hans’s associates. Shares that, if left untouched in an account, would ostensibly leave no trace of illicit transactions. But this illusion was swiftly shattered as the ED managed to trace the tangled web of financial deceit, leading them to uncover more than 70 bank accounts allegedly used to stash and circulate proceeds of crime. Scrutiny of real estate investments for an amount of Rs 18 crore had to be done. Big-ticket cash transactions highlighted the well-calculated and meticulous nature of money laundering efforts. The mounting list of corruption evidence was complemented by seizure of cash amounts of Rs 16 lakh and Rs 23 lakh from various premises. Physical and digital incriminating evidence of corrupt practices was also recovered to unravel the complex network of deceit that ran miles wide.
Hans, who held important positions in both the government of Bihar and central deputations, is accused of accumulating ill-gotten wealth in the years gone by. However, the role of his associates has surfaced in the investigation of ED. The network of corruption and money laundering masterminded by these individuals cast a pal on the RJD.
What started off as a rape case, filed by a woman lawyer against Hans and Yadav in January 2023, quickly snowballed into a humongous financial scandal. The woman lawyer accused the duo of raping her in 2017, blackmailing her, and threatening her life. She also alleged coercion to abort her pregnancy but did not budge, finally delivering in 2018 and seeking a DNA test to ascertain the paternity of the child.
While the Patna High Court quashed the rape case in September, the FIR set off a chain of events that unraveled a far larger web of corruption. The ED took the opportunity to dig deeper, and what it found was a shocking level of financial malfeasance. The ED’s investigation unveiled the shady dealings of Hans and Yadav and their connection to a vast network of hawala transactions, bank accounts, and real estate investments.
All this fell into place when Hans was the chairman and managing director of the Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited. Here, he made his fortune through corrupt means with the government’s lax oversight. The consequences were immediate, relieving Hans of his duties but not before the damage had been done. This investigation exposed more than just corruption; it exposed the deep-rooted rot within the RJD and its influence over state machinery. Hans is a bureaucrat from the 1997 batch of IAS. The fact that the RJD had encouraged and sustained these illegal activities places serious questions about the integrity and commitment of the party to governance. The case also serves as a bitter indictment of the so-called ‘steel frame’ of India’s bureaucracy.
Despite the many checks and balances ostensibly in place to ensure transparency and accountability, Hans’s corruption remained hidden until the ED’s intervention.
This speaks volumes about the failure of internal mechanisms meant to oversee bureaucratic decisions and maintain public trust. In an opaque system, it is the external agencies like the ED that often have to step in to expose the truth. It’s a further erosion of public confidence when one reads that RJD, the party which claims to represent the marginalized, is exposed as one of the key players in one of Bihar’s most brazen financial scandals. This sordid tale of corruption and money laundering is not only a blow to the governance of the state but a stark reminder of the party’s flagrant disregard for ethical conduct and its unholy alliance with corrupt officials.
The truth, once hidden in the shadows, is now coming to light.