Abhay Kant Pathak, a former Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer from the 1987 batch who was employed as the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Addl. PCCF), Plan, Programme, and Afforestation in the office of the PCCF, Government of Odisha, as well as others, has had assets worth Rs. 66 lahks provisionally attached by Directorate of Enforcement (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
On the basis of an FIR filed by the Vigilance Cell PS in Cuttack, Odisha regarding the acquisition of disproportionate assets by Abhay Kant Pathak and his family members totalling Rs. 9.35 Crore, the ED had begun an inquiry under the PMLA, 2002. The Directorate of Enforcement also gathered and reviewed a number of other FIRs and chargesheets lodged/filed by the Odisha Police regarding Akash Kumar Pathak S/o Abhay Kant Pathak during the investigation of the money laundering offence. These FIRs and Chargesheets made public the criminal acts of Akash Kumar Pathak and others who had deceived the trusting individuals by promising them jobs at Tata Motors in exchange for their services.
In compliance with PMLA, 2002, ED had earlier undertaken search operations and seized a BMW luxury vehicle. A Provision Attachment Order was also obtained in April 2022 in favour of Abhay Kant Pathak and others. Now, more investigation is being done.
