Guwahati, July 29 (IANS) The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) filed a prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against 19 accused persons, including five key individuals and 14 bonded warehouse entities, in connection with an alleged large-scale liquor smuggling and money laundering racket operating between Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, officials said on Wednesday.
According to an official statement issued by the ED’s Guwahati Zonal Office, the prosecution complaint named Sanjay Dewan, Niraj Sharma, Rajan Lohia, Shankar Deb and Sameer Mehta among the principal accused.
The case pertained to the clandestine manufacture and illegal transportation of liquor from Arunachal Pradesh into Assam, allegedly resulting in massive tax evasion and generation of proceeds of crime.
The money laundering investigation was initiated based on 173 FIRs registered by Assam Police across districts along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. Banking analysis conducted by the ED found that nine wholesale entities received cash deposits aggregating around Rs 1,047.93 crore, which the agency quantified as proceeds of crime.
These funds were subsequently transferred via RTGS and NEFT to 14 bonded warehouse entities before being consolidated at the manufacturing level and ultimately recognised as legitimate business profits. The laundered money was allegedly diverted into personal and Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) accounts and invested in movable and immovable assets.
The ED alleged that the accused operated a well-organised and vertically integrated criminal syndicate that manufactured liquor in Arunachal Pradesh and smuggled it into Assam without mandatory transit permits or Excise Verification Certificates (EVCs).
Liquor bottles reportedly carried labels stating “For Sale in Arunachal Pradesh” but were illegally diverted to Assam to evade the state’s significantly higher excise duty and Value Added Tax (VAT).
According to the agency, Assam Excise authorities seized more than 2.63 lakh bulk litres of such liquor, valued at approximately Rs 52.77 crore, in 739 separate cases between January 2023 and April 2026. The ED said these seizures represented only a fraction of the total quantity allegedly smuggled into the state.
The investigation further revealed that the three principal accused – Dewan, Sharma and Lohia – had allegedly established near-complete control over Arunachal Pradesh’s liquor trade through an elaborate network of manufacturing units, bonded warehouses, wholesale distributors and retail outlets.
The agency alleged that statutory liquor licences issued to indigenous residents of Arunachal Pradesh were illegally taken over without mandatory approvals from district or excise authorities. The original licence holders were allegedly reduced to proxy name-lenders who received fixed monthly payments, while the accused retained complete financial and operational control through undisclosed agreements.
The ED also claimed that several manufacturing units and warehousing companies appointed dummy directors who served merely as salaried employees, without any decision-making authority. These individuals allegedly signed blank cheques and acted on the principal accused’s instructions.
Investigators further alleged that liquor manufacturing units substantially increased their production capacity without paying the corresponding excise duties, thereby generating large quantities of unaccounted-for liquor that was subsequently smuggled into Assam.
Tracing the financial trail, the ED said the proceeds of crime were laundered through a four-stage mechanism involving wholesale entities, bonded warehouses, manufacturing companies, and, finally, the personal accounts of the accused.
According to the agency, unaccounted cash generated through illegal liquor sales was first deposited into wholesale firms’ bank accounts, allegedly using hawala channels. To avoid regulatory scrutiny, thousands of invoices were reportedly split below Rs 2 lakh, while cash deposits were structured below the Rs 10 lakh reporting threshold.
The prosecution complaint has been filed before the Special PMLA Court, and further proceedings in the case are underway.
–IANS
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