Ex-Nalco CMD, Wife and Two Others Convicted in Money Laundering Case

Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: A special court in Delhi on Monday convicted former Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco), Abhay Kumar Srivastava, his wife Chandni Srivastava, and two others in a money laundering case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

According to a statement from the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Special Judge (PC Act) at Rouse Avenue Court, New Delhi, pronounced the conviction of Srivastava, his wife, and co-accused Bhushan Lal Bajaj and his wife Anita Bajaj.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had initially registered an FIR against Srivastava and others in 2011 under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The case pertained to Srivastava allegedly accepting illegal gratification from GS Bhatia and the Bhatia Group of Companies in return for extending undue official favours during his tenure at Nalco, a state-run PSU based in Odisha.

Investigations revealed that Bhushan Lal Bajaj had acted as an intermediary in facilitating bribes. Srivastava’s wife reportedly used forged identity documents and signatures to open a bank account and locker, through which the illicit funds were routed and concealed in the form of gold bars and cash.

The ED stated that during its investigation, movable assets worth ₹2.23 crore linked to Srivastava were attached. A prosecution complaint against the four accused was filed by the ED before the Special PMLA Court in 2015.

The court, in its verdict, accepted the statutory presumption that the seized assets and funds were proceeds of crime involved in money laundering. The conviction marks a significant development in the over decade-long probe into corruption and financial irregularities related to coal supply tenders during Srivastava’s tenure at Nalco.