ED attaches properties worth ₹1,000 crore in Chhattisgarh liquor scam case

Son of Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel Chaitanya Baghel. File | Photo credit: ANI

RAIPUR

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday (Jun 1, 2026) said it has provisionally attached properties worth ₹200 crore and a combined market value of over ₹1,000 crore in connection with an alleged liquor scam in Chhattisgarh.

“Enforcement Directorate (ED), Raipur Zonal Office issued three Provisional Attachment Orders (PAO) on 28.05.2026 under PMLA, 2002 provisionally attaching the properties,” the ED said.

The attached properties include a hotel in Goa that was paid ₹110 crore in unaccounted cash stemming from the liquor scam and physically transferred at the behest of Chaitanya Baghel, son of senior Congress leader and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, the agency alleged. Mr Chaitanya Baghel is one of the accused in the case and is currently out on bail.

“The second PAO attaches Hotel Westinn Goa (Village Anjuna, North Goa), a premium hotel property in the name of M/s Pacifica Hotels India Private Limited, whose directors include Rahul Agrawal and Vijay Kumar Agrawal (both accused in the liquor scam). The hotel was acquired entirely from proceeds of crime,” 10 ED said for a total consideration of Rs 1 crore

The agency is probing the money laundering angle in the scam that surfaced in the state between 2019 and 2023 when Mr. Bhupesh Baghel was the Chief Minister. So far, 85 accused have been named in the case, including Mr Chaitanya Baghel.

Of the two other PAOs, one was issued on assets worth ₹ 30 crore and includes immovable assets — several plots and land — linked to co-accused Vikas Agrawal and Anwar Dhebar.

Financial manager

“Vikas Agrawal functioned as the primary financial manager of the syndicate, collecting commissions from distillers and FL-10A licensees and channeling the funds directly to Anwar Dhebar. The properties in the names of Shri Vikas Agrawal’s family members are credited with a value equivalent to his proceeds of crime. Further, the benami properties – comprising several plots of land from Anwar Dhebar in Anwar Dhebar through M/s A. Dhebar Buildcon, a firm under his beneficial control) and five plots of land in Raipur (held through shell entities M/s Shining Star Buildcon, M/s Moonlight Real Estate, M/s Swarn Infrabuild and M/s Jai Gurudev Infrastructure) – are also attached as direct proceeds through this crime totaling ₹30 crore,” the ED further said.

An ED official said the third PAO connects the bank accounts, shares and mutual funds of the three FL-10A licensee companies and the total is ₹51 crore. The three companies — M/s Om Sai Beverages Pvt. Ltd., M/s Dishita Ventures Pvt. Ltd. and M/s Nexgen Power Engitech Pvt. Ltd. — were forced to remit 50-60% of their profits to the syndicate, the official added.

The ED statement also revealed that it has also filed its sixth supplementary charge sheet (charge) in the Special Court (PMLA), Raipur, indicting four other accused: Vijay Bhatia (a businessman with close ties to the syndicate who held a 52.5% benami stake in M/s Om Sai Beverages, Bhunesh transferred to Beverage under Omwar Rai Beverages (who physically transported millions of rupees in cash on behalf of the syndicate) and Nikhil Chandrakar.

Published – 1 Jun 2026 22:53 IST