ED Seizes Assets Worth Rs 2.17 Crore in Tripura Fraud and Betting Probes

Agartala: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Agartala Sub-Zonal Office has provisionally attached over Rs 2.17 crore in assets across two separate money laundering investigations. The agency acted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, targeting both a government impersonation fraud and an illegal cricket betting ring.

In the fraud case, investigators attached Rs 1.12 crore in bank balances on July 31, 2026. The funds are linked to shell entities allegedly controlled by Utpal Kumar Chowdhury, a private housing firm, and suspended Tripura cadre IAS officer Abhishek Chandra. The ED claims these assets are proceeds of crime. According to the agency, "The attached assets comprise bank balances held in the names of shell entities controlled by Utpal Kumar Chowdhury, a suspended IAS officer of the Tripura cadre Abhishek Chandra, and a private housing company, representing Proceeds of Crime traced to them."

Chowdhury allegedly posed as a senior Union Home Ministry official. He used forged identity cards to deceive investors, creating firms with names mirroring real government bodies like the Directorate of Higher Education, Tripura, and Bridge & Roof Co. He also seized control of the Chaltakhali Swamiji Seva Sangha trust to lure victims with false promises of government tenders, rubber trade profits, and mid-day meal contracts. The ED alleges Chandra received kickbacks directly into his accounts and through payments made by shell entities toward a flat booking in his name. This follows earlier charges involving an alleged Rs 14.55 crore cheating case against Chandra and others. The total assets attached in this specific fraud investigation now reach Rs 1.63 crore.

A separate probe into an illegal IPL and cricket betting syndicate resulted in the attachment of Rs 1.05 crore in movable and immovable property. The ED targeted nine land parcels in West Tripura and Kolkata, along with bank balances held by Laxman Paul and his wife, Jhuma Dey Paul. This case stems from a May 11, 2023, police raid at the residence of Prasenjit Paul, where authorities recovered Rs 93 lakh in cash, 17 notebooks of betting records, a laptop, and four debit cards. The ED alleges Prasenjit Paul and his uncle Laxman Paul operated the syndicate, moving illicit gains into real estate purchased with cash. With this latest action, the total value of assets attached in the betting case has hit Rs 2.43 crore. Investigations remain active in both matters.