ED arrests promoter of Chennai company in money laundering case linked to coal overvaluation

New Delhi, March 5

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested the promoter of a Chennai-based company in a money laundering case linked to alleged overvaluation of coal during sale to public sector undertakings.

The accused has been identified as A R Buhari, promoter of Coastal Energy Private Limited (CEPL).

“Buhari is controlling companies like Coastal Energy Private Limited, Chennai, Coastal Energen Private Limited, Coal amp; Oil Group Dubai and other offshore entities located in Mauritius and British Virgin Islands,” the ED said in a statement issued on Friday.

It said certain PSUs were supplied “coal of lower calorific value instead of the higher specification for which the tenders were floated and executed by CEPL or MMTC (Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation) and the coal was supplied by CEPL either directly or through MMTC”.

The agency said the “overvaluation” of lower quality of coal was done using a “fraudulent” certificate of sampling and analysis (COSA) and the original COSA depicting the genuine quality of coal was “suppressed”.

Buhari, it alleged, generated “proceeds of crime” of Rs 564.48 crore from the overvaluation of coal.