CBI inquiry into 570 crore coal levy money laundering scam approved

Under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DSPE Act), the CBI investigation of the 570 crore coal levy money laundering scam in Chhattisgarh was duly approved.

According to the report of the investigating agencies, an illegal recovery of Rs 570 crore was made in the name of coal transport in Chhattisgarh between 2020 and 2022. This recovery was made at the rate of Rs 25 on every ton of coal.

The mastermind of this scam is being considered as Suryakant Tiwari, a businessman of Raipur. According to the ED, Suryakant Tiwari created this entire mechanism with the help of officers, transporters and brokers. Suryakant Tiwari is currently in judicial custody and his bail petitions have been dismissed several times. Today his brother Navneet Tiwari has been arrested.

Home Department file (serial number F No. 4-10/Home-C/) and CID Legal Section of Police Headquarters have issued special instructions to the SP of all range IG and districts. These instructions states that the CBI should cooperate in the investigation and supply all the documents immediately.

A senior officer said that the government has put a final seal on this decision. But he gave this information on the condition of keeping his identity secret.

The legal process had already started in this case. On 14 August 2023, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a petition in the Chhattisgarh High Court demanding a CBI inquiry. The ED alleged in the petition that he had handed over documents related to the scam to the state government under Section 66 of the PMLA, but no action was taken.

The ED also said that most of the officials in the state’s Economic Offenses Investigation Bureau and ACB/EOW are under the state government, which raises questions on fair investigation.

Three senior officials arrested in the scam were granted conditional bail by the Supreme Court in May 2025.

Those who got bail are:-

* IAS Sameer Vishnoi

* IAS Ranu Sahu

* The then Deputy Secretary Soumya Chaurasia

The Supreme Court had ordered that these officers will not live in Chhattisgarh and will register their presence in police stations of other states.