According to sources, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal because she "deliberately suppressed information on the MGNREGA fraud" and provided evasive explanations about cash found from her accountant's premises.
She had appeared before the investigative agency in Ranchi on Tuesday for interrogation in a money laundering case involving the suspected misappropriation of MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) funding in the state's Khunti area, among other allegations.
Between 2007 to 2013, Pooja Singhal served as the Deputy Collector of Jharkhand's Chatra, Khunti, and Palamu districts.
Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the federal agency has recorded the statement of an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) official from the 2000 batch (PMLA).
The ED investigation concerns a money laundering case in which Ram Binod Prasad Sinha, a former junior engineer in the Jharkhand government, was arrested by the agency on June 17, 2020, in West Bengal after he was booked under the PMLA in 2012 after the agency studied the state vigilance bureau's In the MGNREGA scam, a Jharkhand official was arrested, and a hospital owned by a family was scanned.Mr Sinha has admitted to paying a 5% commission to the district administration for allegedly misappropriating funds from the rural job guarantee scheme.
According to bank accounts obtained by the investigating agency, Pooja Singhal and her husband Abhishek Jha made large cash deposits totaling 1.43 crore during the time period under question
They said she bought 13 life insurance policies and paid premiums totaling 80.81 lakh between 2006 and 2013, then closed them early and received 84.64 lakh.
Suman Kumar, a chartered accountant, was detained in this case on May 7 after the CBI seized nearly Rs 17 crore in cash from his home. Since his arrest, he has been held in ED custody. Mr Kumar has told officials that Pooja Singhal owns the majority of the money confiscated.
During that time, Pooja Singhal allegedly transferred around 16.57 lakhs from her account to her CA Suman Kumar's account, according to reports.
Mr. Sinha has been charged.
During that time, Pooja Singhal allegedly transferred around 16.57 lakhs from her account to her CA Suman Kumar's account, according to reports.
Suman Kumar has also admitted to paying a known builder Rs 3 crore for the site for Pulse Hospital, which is owned by the IAS officer and her family. According to sources, the hospital is currently valued 70 crore.
"Huge sums of proceeds of crime from looted MNREGA monies were incorporated into the development and operation of Pooja Singhal and her family's Pulse Hospital," they claimed.
Abhishek Jha, her husband, is being questioned today about Pulse Hospital's administration and transactions.