A superintending engineer in Odisha, caught possessing ₹1.40 crore in cash, was found operating two bank accounts in the name of his deceased mother-in-law.
The value of property acquired by Ashish Kumar Dash, former Superintending Engineer of Rural Works of Malkangiri, has now crossed ₹9 crore, according to the Odisha Vigilance Directorate.
While most corrupt officials invest in the real estate sector, Mr. Dash had acquired cash and gold, said a vigilance officer.
“The superintending engineer confessed that he was operating two bank accounts in the name of his mother-in-law who had passed away in 2010. In a bank, the corrupt official had deposited ₹64 lakh on 16 occasions in a savings account opened in the name of his mother-in-law in 2020 — 10 years after death,” said the Vigilance department.
Mr. Dash revealed that to avoid scrutiny, he was limiting the cash deposits to ₹1.98 lakh (below ₹2 lakh) on most occasions.
The agency said a savings bank account was never discontinued even after the death of his mother-in-law. Most of the transactions in two accounts were being done online.
Benami accounts
The engineer managed to open benami bank accounts in the names of 10 different persons who were his servants, caretaker of his farmland and others.
“We are now estimating as to how much money has been transacted through 10 benami accounts. Many of the persons do not know that bank accounts have been opened in their name,” said an investigating officer.
He said “it is very difficult to trace as to who deposits money in an account. We are minutely examining every small transaction which is leading us to another benami account.”
The engineer has so far deposited premium to the tune of ₹60 lakh in different insurance schemes. He has purchased gold weighing 2.55 kg.
According to the vigilance directorate, a team of experts of the finance wing including a bank officer and a chartered accountant is verifying all benami investments and the value of disproportionate assets is likely to increase further.
Earlier, the investigators had come across 18 fixed deposits in different accounts in the Malkangiri branch of a bank in which ₹78 lakh were deposited from March 18, 2021, to February 10, 2022.
