The Enforcement Directorate has lodged a supplementary prosecution complaint outlining a well-planned liquor scam that yielded about Rs 2883 crore from 2019 to 2023. This scam involved a criminal syndicate that subverted the state’s excise policy through various illegal means to divert significant funds. The complaint, filed on December 26, names 59 new individuals, increasing the total accused to 81, including senior bureaucrats and field-level excise officials who allegedly received fixed commissions.
Political figures, including a former Excise Minister and individuals associated with the Chief Minister’s office, are implicated in approving policies and diverting illicit funds for personal gains. The scam operated through channels like illegal commissions on official liquor sales, a parallel system for selling unaccounted country liquor, annual cartel payments from distillers, and extortion via a new license category. Private players, distilleries, and merchants played crucial roles in the operation, with key figures arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The agency has seized properties worth Rs 382.32 crore, including luxury hotels and assets linked to involved families. The investigation aims to uncover the extensive conspiracy that reached top levels of administration and politics, causing substantial losses to public revenue while benefiting a select group of individuals.
