The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against M/s Cooperative Company Ltd. and others for evading excise duties while supplying liquor. The charges were accepted by a Special Court (PMLA) in Lucknow on Tuesday.
The case began after a police complaint was filed at Kotwali Dehat police station in Saharanpur. This led the ED to investigate Company Officialcan and other directors and employees of Cooperative Company Ltd. (CCL), based in Saharanpur Tapri, along with owners of CL-2 warehouses.
It was found that CCL was supplying country liquor under the brand name “Shabnam Angoori” using fake gate passes, thus evading excise duties and causing a loss of about Rs 35 crore to the state government.
The investigation, which was later handed over to the SIT in Lucknow, resulted in 10 chargesheets being filed. The probe revealed that CCL employees were using duplicate barcodes and QR codes to transport liquor multiple times on the same gate pass. The company was also involved in producing unreported liquor by manipulating the amount of Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) it received, which was not recorded in their books.
The ED also found that the proceeds of crime, amounting to Rs 34.73 crore, were generated from illegal liquor sales and excise duty evasion. However, these proceeds were later used by the company in its regular business activities.
