Hemant Soren’s State-Graft: 50 Files (Lakh) for CEO Post, 2.5 Folders (Crore) for Govt Land, Says ED

Rs 50 lakh for the position of the chief executive officer (CEO) of a state government organisation, Rs 70-80 lakh for senior positions and Rs 2.5 crore for free allocation of a government land to a private party – This is the ‘rate card’ the Enforcement Directorate (ED) stumbled upon while retrieving the WhatsApp chats and messages from the seized phones of some of the accused and alleged associates of Jharkhand’s former chief minister Hemant Soren. The chats, however, had code words such as “files" for lakhs and “folders" for crores, said the agency.

The conversations took place allegedly between senior IAS officers, holding positions of principal secretaries in Soren’s government and fixers or businessmen in Jharkhand.

In a 35-page letter to the state government last September, the directorate had attached evidence on the malpractices to launder huge amounts of cash and requested the state to initiate an investigation into the larger scam around transfer postings. News18 has accessed the letter.

The messages asking for money for transfer postings surfaced yet again as the ED arrested Soren last month in connection with a land scam.

The WhatsApp messages retrieved from the seized phones of the accused and details of the conversations between a group of businessmen and Soren blew the lid off the well-oiled racket between civil service officers and government machinery via middlemen for ‘desired’ transfer postings in the state. The central agency, during the investigation, also verified the transfer orders to see if they corroborate with the alleged conversations and the orders did. The government issued orders accordingly, News18 has learnt.

Meanwhile, the state is yet to take action.

35-PAGE LETTER WITH EVIDENCE AGAINST SENIOR IAS OFFICERS; NO FIR YET

News18 has accessed and analysed the relevant documents related to the money laundering for transfer postings, which show that the officers paid between Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore for “comfortable" postings. The ED attached some such screenshots with its petition before the court seeking Soren’s custody early this month.

The 35-page letter, dated September 26, 2023, written by the ED to the state, had the screenshots of WhatsApp messages between senior IAS officers, including senior principal secretaries, other officers, agents, CCTV footages of cash deposits and details of bank accounts. However, the government hasn’t yet lodged a First Information Report (FIR) into the malpractices, said sources in the government. “We are looking into all details," said a senior IAS officer in the state government.

“Over the past few months, the ED had sent around eight to nine letters about the actions and their findings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The government has taken cognisance of some, while some are still in process. We have to see what action was taken in this particular case," the senior officer told News 18.

‘FILES’, ‘FOLDERS’ AND ‘GOOD DEALS’

Current posting: MD, agriculture marketing board

Desired Posting: CEO, JAP IT (Jharkhand Agency for Promotion of Information Technology)

50 files, good deal, urgent…

Above mentioned is one of the many WhatsApp chats or messages that the central agency has retrieved from the seized phones and laptops. News18 has withheld the names of the officers, their batch and other details of the recipients and sender. The agency has duly verified and done its forensic audits before presenting the details to the state and as evidence in connection with the cases, a senior source said.

In the letter, the ED has explained that ‘file’, ‘folder’, ‘deal’ are code words between the officers and fixers. “The investigation revealed that ‘files’ and ‘folders’ in the above conversations referred to the commission/bribe amounts in “lakhs" and “crores" respectively," the ED wrote in the letter, stating that senior officers are “involved in rampant corruption and misuse of government funds and subsequent generation of Proceeds of Crime".

The agency further added, “From analysis of digital evidences recovered from the seized digital devices, such as the following WhatsApp conversations, it is observed that there are messages between officers and businessmen which establish their crime, as they were also trying to collect money from the officers for their transfer posting."

“The act of the above-mentioned accused persons, including public servant prima facie appears to be offences under Section 7, 7A, 8, 9, 10 and 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and under Section 201, 203, 204 r/w 120(B) of IPC, 1860 or under any other sections/act as deemed fit. Hence, it is proper to share the information under section 66 (2) of PMLA," wrote the central agency.

Citing SC judgments, the agency stated, “The legal sanctity of the said provision is further explained by Hon’ble Supreme Court in several judgments… and the court has categorically asserted on the significance and compelling reasons for registration of FIR at the earliest… "

OVER-INVOICING OF GOVERNMENT TENDERS

The directorate, in the letter, also mentioned the malpractices related to over-invoicing of government tenders. A racket of fixers for over-invoicing of government tenders and collecting bribes and other kickbacks for transfer postings is common. The agency has accessed the bank account details of the officers, allegedly involved in the tender scam and transfer posting rackets.

They have been found to be, even same people in some cases, close to the chief minister and holding the rank and positions of principal secretaries in the government.