ED Files Final Complaint Against 59 More in Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam, Total 81 Accused
December 27, 2025
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) filed the final prosecution complaint on December 26, 2025, in the Chhattisgarh liquor scam case. The complaint names 59 new accused, taking the total number in the money laundering case to 81. ED’s counsel Saurabh Kumar Pande told The Hindu that the Supreme Court had given a three-month deadline on September 16 to file the complaint. The order was uploaded on September 26. Following the Court’s directions, the ED submitted the complaint before a PMLA court. Earlier, 22 people were accused in the scam. Some were arrested after investigations. The new accused include former Deputy Secretary at the Chief Minister’s office Soumya Chaurasia, former IAS officer Niranjan Das, liquor licence holders, liquor manufacturers, and excise department officials. The liquor scam surfaced during the previous Congress regime and caused a massive loss of over ₹3000 crore to the State exchequer, Mr. Pande said. The State Economic Offences Wing and Anti Corruption Bureau have filed an FIR. The ED is probing the related money laundering. Earlier this year, the ED arrested Congress MLA and former Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma and Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, in July. The ED described Mr. Lakhma as the main receiver of crime proceeds and Mr. Chaitanya Baghel as a key handler of nearly ₹1,000 crore generated by the liquor syndicate.
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Tags:
Liquor scam
Money laundering
Chhattisgarh
Enforcement directorate
Ed arrest
Political corruption
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