ED attaches ₹5.92 crore land in Bhuj in PMLA case against ex-IAS Pradeep Sharma

Bhuj: Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Ahmedabad has provisionally attached immovable assets worth Rs. 5.92 Crore, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with a case against Pradeep Sharma (IAS-Retired), Sanjay Shah & Ors. The assets include immovable properties in the form of plots worth Rs. 5.92 Crore located in Bhuj, Kutch, Gujarat, a press release said today.

ED initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of the FIR registered by the CID, Crime Branch, Border Zone, Bhuj, Gujarat, for cheating and criminal breach of trust.

ED investigation revealed that Pradeep Sharma, in connivance with other revenue officials, was involved in cheating and illegal allotment of valuable government land by leveraging his position as the District Collector of Bhuj, Gujarat. He disregarded various government resolutions and allotted the land illegally to one Sanjay Shah, which caused an undue loss to the Gujarat Government.

Sanjay Shah later developed the said land into residential plots and generated further Proceeds of Crime (POC). Accordingly, ED conducted an investigation, which established the trail of POC generated Sanjay Shah, and the same was attached vide Provisional Attachment Order dated. 25.04.2025. Further investigation is under progress. DeshGujarat