Money laundering case: ED attaches assets of ex-IAS couple of Madhya Pradesh cadre

Assets worth about Rs 1.49 crore of a former IAS couple, Arvind Joshi and Tinoo Joshi, of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, have been attached as part of a money-laundering probe against them, the Enforcement Directorate said on Saturday. The agency said that a provisional order for attachment of a total of 32 assets, like agricultural land, plots and land, has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The properties belong to H M Joshi, Nirmala Joshi, Abha Ghani, Harsh Kohli, Sahil Kohli and Ethos Exports Pvt. Ltd, who are linked to the former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers of the 1979 batch, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said.

The money laundering case against the former bureaucrats is based on a state police FIR registered against them for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets to the tune of over Rs 41 crore.


"Arvind Joshi and Tinoo Joshi have acquired huge number of movable and immovable properties in the name of their family members and their close associates from the ill-gotten money," the ED said in a statement. "Such money, mostly received in the form of cash, has been utilised either directly or has been routed through multiple layers of bank accounts opened in the name of family members, their close associates and various firms," it said.

The agency, before the latest attachment of Rs 1.49 crore of assets, had earlier seized properties worth Rs 7.12 crore of the couple. The former IAS officers were dismissed from service in 2014 for allegedly amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income.

During a raid at their house in Bhopal in 2010, the Income Tax Department allegedly found Rs 3.03 crore in cash and launched a tax evasion probe against them. The Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta Police later filed a separate case against the couple for allegedly amassing assets worth Rs 41.87 crore.