Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Enforcement Directorate (ED), Bhopal has provisionally attached immovable assets worth Rs 50.80 lakh belonging to Shyamlal Akhand, a former Enforcement Officer in the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), in a case of disproportionate assets.
According to ED officials, the property has been attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The assets include agricultural land at village Nalwa in Ujjain district, held jointly in the name of Akhand’s wife and son, and a residential plot at Emerald City, village Jakhya, tehsil Sanwer in Indore district, registered in Akhand’s name.
Investigations revealed that during his tenure from 2009 to 2019, Akhand misused his official position to accumulate wealth that far exceeded his legal income.
ED found that he was involved in corrupt practices, including demanding and accepting bribes, and used the proceeds of crime to acquire properties in his and his family members’ names. To justify assets, Akhand claimed income from his salary, rental earnings, agriculture and his wife’s embroidery and stitching business.
However, he failed to produce any documentary proof supporting existence or earnings of his wife’s alleged business. The ED also found large cash deposits in multiple bank accounts held by Akhand and his family. The agency launched its probe based on two FIRs registered by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), Bhopal—one for bribery and another for possession of assets disproportionate to known sources of income.
