ED attaches assets worth Rs 21 crore of RJD MLA family

New Delhi, Oct 9 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it has attached assets worth more than Rs 21 crore of RJD MLA Kiran Devi, her husband and former legislator Arun Yadav and some linked entities as part of a money laundering investigation.
    Forty-six immovable properties located in Agiaon village of Bihar's Bhojpur district and some others located in "posh" areas of Patna as well as bank deposits of Rs 2 crore have been attached after a provisional order was issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
    The attached properties, worth a total of Rs 21.38 crore, belong to Arun Yadav, Kiran Yadav, Arun Yadav's sons Rajesh Kumar and Dipu Singh and their family-owned company named Kiran Durga Construction Pvt Ltd, the agency said.
    Kiran Devi is a sitting MLA of the Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD), representing the Sandesh constituency in Bhojpur. Arun Yadav represented this seat from 2015 to 2020.
    The federal agency alleged in a statement that Arun Yadav "generated huge proceeds of crime by indulging into criminal activities and abuse of his position and concealed the crime money in acquiring properties through cash, constructing palatial residence and depositing it in their bank accounts in the guise of their legitimate income".
    "They (the Yadav family) misused the banking system and Kiran Durga Construction Pvt Ltd to layer and launder the proceeds of crime and to project the same as untainted," it said.
    The money laundering case against Arun Yadav and his family stems from four FIRs filed by the Bihar Police against the former MLA on charges of alleged involvement in "heinous crimes, illegal sand mining and sale of sand".
    As per the ED, Arun Yadav, between 2014-15 and 2022-23, and his family members acquired 40 parcels of agricultural land (worth Rs 3.04 crore) using cash funds.
    They also acquired four flats (worth Rs 2.56 crore) in Danapur and one commercial land (worth Rs 3.44 crore) in Pataliputra Colony, Patna, and "substantial cash" was utilised for acquiring them, it claimed.
    Arun Yadav, as per the agency, also constructed a palatial residence in his village Agiaon which is valued at Rs 11.03 crore.
    "He (Arun Yadav) has been a syndicate member in the illegal sand mining in Aurangabad and Rohtas districts of Bihar.
    "...Huge cash deposits in the bank accounts of Arun Yadav and family members (Rs 8.18 crore) and also in the account of associated entity Kiran Durga Construction Pvt Ltd. (Rs 11.80 crore) were made without any basis and valid justification," the ED claimed.
    In this way, it said, Arun Yadav amassed assets worth Rs 39.31 crore in the name of his family members and company which are apparently "disproportionate" to their legitimate source of income.
    Arun Yadav and his wife Kiran Devi have been in public office from 2015 to till date, the ED said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)