Green crime: ED files charge sheet against polluting Punjab factory

Jalandhar, Dec 16 The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Jalandhar Zonal Office, filed a Prosecution Complaint before the Special Court for PMLA at Jalandhar against Malbros International, Gautam Malhotra and others, in connection with a money laundering investigation related to an environmental crime.

The charges were filed on Monday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, said an official statement.

The ED initiated an investigation on the basis of a criminal complaint filed by the Punjab Pollution Control Board against Malbros International and others for violating the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, by injection of untreated wastewater through reverse boring into deep aquifers.

The ED investigation revealed that the industrial unit of Malbros International, located at Village Mansoorwal, Tehsil Zira, District Ferozepur, was involved in the generation and possession of Proceeds of Crime (POC) by deliberate and wilful pollution of groundwater.

The unit, through its daily operations, was engaged in the persistent and covert discharge of untreated industrial effluents into deep aquifers through reverse boring, and by releasing wastewater onto nearby land, drains, and an adjacent sugar mill, the ED said.

Malbros International had run their factory operations through criminal activities of continuously causing environmental pollution of groundwater, nearby water bodies and areas and thus generated and acquired POC to the tune of Rs. 80 Crore during the period involved under investigation.

Earlier, searches were conducted at six locations on July 16, 2024, under the provisions of PMLA, 2002.

The ED seized Rs 78.15 lakh cash and immovable properties worth Rs 79.93 crore, consisting of land, building and plant and machinery of Malbros International, were attached using a vide Provisional Attachment Order dated December 13, 2025.

The Malbros unit’s daily functioning involved persistent illegal discharge of untreated effluents into land and groundwater, causing large-scale irreparable ecological damage in the form of water pollution and consequent health hazards, causing crop loss, cattle deaths and serious health impacts for residents of villages around its premises, said a statement.

--IANS

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