New Delhi, Jan 13 (.) The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Indore Sub-Zonal Office today stated that it has filed a chargesheet before a Special PMLA Court against Kishore Wadhwani, Nitesh Wadhwani, Poonam Wadhwani, and Dabang Duniya Publications Pvt. Ltd for their alleged involvement in conspiracy to defraud the government by converting illegally acquired money into lawful income.
The court has taken cognizance of the chargesheet.
The ED initiated its investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on an FIR registered by the Tukoganj Police Station in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The FIR alleged that Kishore Wadhwani, Nitesh Wadhwani, and others conspired to defraud the government by converting illegally acquired money into lawful income.
The investigation revealed that the CGST Department established a direct link between Dabang Duniya Publications Pvt. Ltd. (DDPPL) and the clandestine cigarette trade operated by Elora Tobacco Co. Ltd., an entity found to be engaged in illegal cigarette distribution. It was uncovered that cash proceeds from the sale of these illegal cigarettes were funnelled through DDPPL’s books. This was done by Kishore Wadhwani and his accomplices using inflated circulation numbers and fictitious advertisements for the publication.
The probe further uncovered the creation of fake tax invoices and the inflation of newspaper circulation figures to perpetrate this large-scale fraud. The illicit funds were allegedly laundered through multiple transactions to obscure their origins. The Proceeds of Crime (POC) identified in this case exceed Rs. 11.66 crore.
During the investigation, the ED’s Indore office had also issued a Provisional Attachment Order for assets worth Rs. 11.33 crore.
. ATK .