Chhattisgarh authorities seize Rs 4 crore assets of suspended IAS officer in coal levy scam

Authorities in Chhattisgarh on Saturday attached properties worth around Rs 4 crore belonging to suspended IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi , an accused in the ongoing coal levy scam , for allegedly acquiring assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The action was taken by the Anti-Corruption Bureau/Economic Offences Wing (ACB/EOW) following a court order issued by a Special Court under the Prevention of Corruption Act in Raipur on April 17. Officials said the attachment order renders the identified properties non-transferable and bars any sale or alienation.

According to an official statement, the EOW had registered a disproportionate assets (DA) case against Vishnoi in July 2024. During the investigation, agencies identified nine immovable properties , collectively valued at approximately Rs 4 crore, allegedly acquired through illicit means. These properties are reportedly registered in the names of his family members and associated firms.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier provisionally attached five other immovable properties linked to Vishnoi in connection with the same case. Officials added that proceedings are also underway against several other public servants, including earlier attachment actions against properties linked to Saumya Chaurasia , former deputy secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office during the previous Congress government.

Vishnoi, a 2009-batch Indian Administrative Service officer , was first arrested by the ED in 2022 in connection with the alleged scam. He was later granted bail by the Supreme Court last year.

The coal levy scam refers to an alleged large-scale corruption racket estimated at around Rs 540 crore , said to have operated between July 2020 and June 2022. Investigators allege that an illegal levy of Rs 25 per tonne of coal was systematically collected on coal transported within Chhattisgarh. The purported syndicate is believed to have involved senior bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians, and middlemen.

Further investigation into the wider network and other accused individuals in the case is continuing, officials said.