New Delhi, Oct 17 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate Thursday said it has arrested an IAS officer and a former assistant Commissioner of the Tribal Development Department in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the Chhattisgarh District Mineral Fund (DMF).

IAS officer Ranu Sahu was arrested on October 17, while Maya Varier was taken into custody two days ago.

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The federal agency said in a statement that both the "prime accused" have been sent to ED custody till October 22 by a special Raipur court that hears cases related to Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The money laundering probe into the alleged DMF scam was initiated after studying three FIRs registered by the Chhattisgarh Police that booked the accused on charges of siphoning off government funds by the contractors in collusion with state government officials and political executives.

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DMF is a trust funded by miners that have been set up in all districts of Chhattisgarh with an aim to work for the benefit of those affected by mining related projects and activities, the ED said.

According to the probe agency, Sahu was the collector of Korba district from May 2021 to June 2022 and Varier was the Assistant Commissioner of the Tribal Development Department in the same district from August, 2021 to March, 2023.

"During their tenure in Korba, an organised system of collection of illegal commission from the vendors/contractors was being operated, " the agency alleged.

The probe found that the contractors paid a "huge amount of commission/illegal gratification" to officials, to the tune of 25-40 per cent of the contract value, it claimed.

"Cash used for payment of kickbacks was generated by the vendors/contractors using accommodation entries," the ED said.

DMF Fund allocated to Korba district was more than Rs 1,000 crore from its inception till 2022-23 fiscal and with the prevalent rate, commission to the tune of hundreds of crores of rupees was generated, the agency said.

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