PMLA court convicts 3 family members of deceased CDA official in DA-linked case

New Delhi, Aug 21 (PTI) A special court in Madhya Pradesh has convicted three family members of a deceased Controller of Defence Accounts (CDA) official under the anti-money laundering law in a case related to possession of disproportionate assets (DA) against him.

The order was passed by the PMLA court in Jabalpur on Wednesday, the federal probe agency said in a statement.

The court convicted late Suryakant Gaur's wife Vinita Gaur (67), son Shishir Gaur (43) and daughter-in-law Sunita Gaur (40) and sentenced them to three years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 10,000 each.

Suryakant Gaur was posted as assistant accounts officer in the bill processing section of the CDA in Jabalpur.

His responsibilities included processing provident fund (PF) bills, arranging for the preparation of cheques in the name of claimants, and ensuring their disbursement after obtaining necessary approvals from competent authorities.

"In abuse of his position, funds intended for legitimate PF account holders were fraudulently diverted, into bank accounts held by him, his family members and his associates," the ED said.

The agency said the court ordered that it is "proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused persons -- ”Vinita Gaur, Shishir Gaur and Sunita Gaur -- ”knowingly attempted to project the proceeds, property and income acquired by the deceased accused Suryakant Gaur through corrupt means, as untainted property".

It was held that the accused were "directly and indirectly" involved in concealing, possessing, acquiring and using such proceeds of crime and they knowingly assisted in and became parties to such activities.

"In doing so, the accused committed the offence of money laundering as defined under Section 3 of the PMLA, 2002," it said.

The ED initiated a probe against Suryakant Gaur in 2011 taking cognisance of a CBI FIR filed against him. A chargesheet was filed by it against the accused in March 2014.

During the check period between April 2005-July 2010, the late official "accumulated" assets worth Rs 90,85,901 which were "disproportionate" to his known sources of income by 304.86 per cent, the agency said. PTI NES KVK KVK