New Delhi, Mar 28 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate Friday said it has seized cash worth Rs 11.64 crore after it conducted fresh searches against some people being probed in a money laundering case against Bihar IAS officer Sanjeev Hans.

The raids were launched on Thursday at seven locations in Patna.

The federal probe agency said in a statement that it searched the premises of Tarini Das, chief engineer of Bihar Construction Department (BCD); Mumukshu Chaudhary, joint secretary in Bihar government's finance department; and Umesh Kumar Singh, executive engineer of Urban Development and Housing Dept. (UDHD) among others.

Raids were also conducted against Ayaz Ahmed, Deputy Project Director of Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (BUIDCO); Sagar Jaiswal, DGM (Projects) of Bihar Medical Services and Infrastructure Corporation Ltd. (BMSICL); Vikash Jha, DGM of BMSICL; and Saket Kumar, Executive Engineer in the Bihar Construction Department (BCD).

It claimed that these officials were the "recipients" of bribe money to give "favourable" outcomes in several tenders as well as clearance of bills of various contractors including that of a Patna-based contractor named Rishu Shree.

None of the officials or their legal representatives could be contacted for their response on the ED action and the charges made against them.

The searches led to the seizure of about Rs 11.64 crore cash, a number of property documents, some papers pertaining to sharing of "bribe money" along with various other "incriminating" documents and digital evidences, the ED said.

It, however, did not say how much cash and documents was seized from whose premises.

The money laundering case against Hans, a 1997-batch bureaucrat who last served as the principal secretary of the Bihar energy department, stems from a special vigilance unit FIR of Bihar Police.

The ED has alleged that Hans "earned illicit money by indulging in corrupt practices while holding various prime postings in Bihar government and also during his central deputations during 2018 -2023." PTI NES ZMN

Money laundering probe prompts searches and seizures targeting officials alleged to have received bribes, expanding the investigation. A federal money laundering investigation based on a special vigilance FIR prompted searches at seven locations and seizures of large cash amounts, property papers, documents alleging sharing of bribe proceeds, and digital evidence. The probe alleges a senior bureaucrat generated illicit funds through corrupt practices while in key postings and that multiple officials were recipients of bribe money to obtain favourable tender outcomes and bill clearances; the agency did not attribute specific seized items to particular premises.