Former IAS officer and ex-District Collector of Bhuj, Pradeep Nirankarnath Sharma, has been convicted in two Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases. The judgment was delivered by a special court in Ahmedabad yesterday.
The Enforcement Directorate had launched its probe based on multiple police cases filed in Gujarat between 2010 and 2014, alleging corruption, criminal conspiracy, and irregular land allotments.
Sharma, during his tenure as Collector of Kutch, was found guilty of illegally allocating government land at undervalued rates, causing a loss of over Rs 1.20 crore to the Gujarat government while obtaining personal financial benefits.
The Supreme Court had earlier rejected Sharma's plea challenging the maintainability of money laundering charges, recognising that money laundering is a continuing offence as long as illicit proceeds are possessed or projected as legitimate.
The PMLA court has awarded Sharma rigorous imprisonment of five years and a fine of Rs 50,000. In default of payment, he will face another three months of simple imprisonment. The court has also ordered confiscation of assets worth Rs 1.32 crore, earlier attached by the ED during investigation.
Rejecting his request for concurrent sentencing with his earlier conviction in a corruption case, the court noted that as a senior IAS officer, Sharma had grossly misused his official position.
The court emphasised that offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the anti-money laundering law hold distinct objectives and warranted separate punishment given the gravity of the crimes.
