Close aide of Anwar Dhebar arrested in Rs 2,000 cr custom milling scam, sent to ACB/EOW custody
⭕️ Investigators secure evidence of Rs 20 cr collection for officials
⭕️ ED earlier filed PMLA complaint over Rs 100 cr kickbacks
By : Akshay Lahre
Raipur : The State Anti-Corruption Bureau and Economic Offences Wing (ACB/EOW) has arrested Dipen Chawda, identified as a close associate of businessman Anwar Dhebar, in connection with the multi-crore custom milling scam. He was produced before the Special Anti-Corruption Court, which remanded him to seven days of ACB/EOW custody under Crime No. 01/2024. Investigators stated that Chawda functioned as a financial handler for illegal transactions exceeding Rs 2,000 crore in multiple cases linked to Dhebar. In the custom milling case, the bureau confirmed it had secured evidence of his role in collecting nearly Rs 20 crore on behalf of certain public servants. Officials maintained that custodial questioning was necessary to trace the money trail, identify beneficiaries, and establish the full scope of the conspiracy. The scam, centred on extortion of rice millers under the state’s custom milling policy, has already led to significant legal action. In February 2025, ACB/EOW filed a detailed chargesheet before the Special Court against Manoj Kumar Soni, then Managing Director of the Food and Civil Supplies Corporation (FCSC), and senior official Roshan Chandrakar. The charges outlined how millers were compelled to pay unlawful levies, which were routed through a nexus of officials and private intermediaries. The investigation continues against senior bureaucrat Anil Tuteja and businessman Anwar Dhebar. Both were earlier arrested through a production warrant and remanded to ACB/EOW custody, with investigators focusing on exposing deeper levels of institutional collusion. It may be recalled that the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Raipur, had already taken parallel action. On October 10, 2024, the agency filed a Prosecution Complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, before the Special Court (PMLA) in Raipur, naming Soni and Chandrakar among the accused. The ED’s probe, based on an Income Tax Department complaint, revealed that inflated milling incentives during the Kharif season 2021-22 generated kickbacks of more than Rs 100 crore. Both were arrested earlier in 2024, and assets worth Rs 19 crore belonging to Chandrakar were attached. The court had taken cognisance of the chargesheet on October 5, 2024. According to ACB/EOW investigators, the present custodial interrogation of Chawda is expected to yield crucial leads regarding the collection mechanisms and the identities of end beneficiaries.
