In the Coimbatore District, 45 acres of property belonging to a Benami Company owned by A. Raja, a former Cabinet Minister who served as the Ministry of Environment & Forest from 2004 to 2007, have been temporarily attached by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED).
During the PMLA inquiry, ED discovered that A. Raja had given environmental clearances to a Gurugram-based real estate business (one of the biggest in the nation and also listed on the BSE) during his time as Minister of Environment & Forests (2004 to 2007). Additionally, during the PMLA investigation, ED discovered that A. Raja received a bribe from the real estate business under the guise of land commission revenue in the hands of one of his Benami companies as payment for granting the Environmental Clearance during the same time period in 2007.
The corporation was discovered to have been founded by A. Raja in the same year, 2007, in the names of his family and a close family friend with the express purpose of utilising it as a vehicle to store criminal gains. Since its formation, the aforementioned firm has never participated in any commercial activity, and the whole sum of money acquired by the company was a quid pro quo from a real estate transaction and was applied to the purchase of land in the Coimbatore District.
As a result, the Directorate has temporarily attached the properties of 45 acres of land in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, that were bought using the proceeds of crime (illegal payments paid in exchange for receiving environmental clearances). Additionally, a case inquiry is ongoing.
