With nationwide tax raids today on as many as 70 premises, the net is closing in on former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda and four of his associates.

Investigators from the Enforcement Directorate have booked them under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on allegations of corruption and diversion of state funds.

Koda’s four associates are Vinod Sinha, his brother Vikas Sinha, Sanjay Choudhary and his brother Dhananjay Choudhary.

Three former ministers, Kamlesh Singh, Bhanu Pratap Shahi and Bandhu Tirkey, are also named as accused in the FIR filed by the ED under the PMLA.

ED investigations have indicated that Koda allegedly amassed wealth in “hundreds of crores” and invested it through the Sinhas and Choudharys in real estate and mines in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and Liberia.

Today’s raids involved premises connected with Koda, Sinhas and Choudharys in Ranchi, Mumbai, New Delhi, Jamshedpur, Chaibasa, Nasik and Lucknow. Papers, CDs, and computers were seized.

“Prima facie, it appears they had amassed wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income,” said IT’s Director (Vigilance) Ujjwal Choudhary. “It appears there were unaccounted money transactions when Koda was Mines Minister during the Arjun Munda government and when he was Chief Ministership.”

Records show Sanjay Choudhary and Koda went on a five-day trip to Thailand between October 12 and 16, 2003, when the latter was Minister (Mines) in the NDA government led by Arjun Munda. Koda was Chief Minister between February 2006 and August 2008.

Last year, Choudhary was intercepted by Customs en route to Dubai from Mumbai for allegedly carrying more cash than allowed.

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