ED makes arrest in Chhattisgarh custom rice milling scam, intensifies probe into ₹147 crore illegal collection

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Chhattisgarh rice milling scam

Highlights

The Enforcement Directorate arrested Ram Gopal Agrawal on 9 October 2026 in connection with the alleged ₹147 crore custom rice milling scam.
The ED revealed that the incentive amount for the 2021-22 paddy Kharif season was increased from ₹40 to ₹120 per quintal, in exchange for which ₹20 per quintal was illegally collected from millers.
Around ₹147 crore in cash was collected between December 2022 and July 2023 by withholding bills, and was treated as proceeds of crime under the PMLA.

This article was translated from the original. Read the original version by our correspondent here.

Investigation outline and basis for arrest

As stated by the Enforcement Directorate, the Raipur Zonal Office arrested Ram Gopal Agrawal on 09.10.2026 under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The agency said the investigation was initiated on the basis of a prosecution complaint filed by the Income Tax Department, after which the ACB/EOW, Raipur also registered an FIR under various provisions of the IPC, 1860 and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

According to the agency, following his arrest, Agrawal was produced before the Special Court, PMLA, Raipur, which granted five days of ED custody. The ED said he was evasive and non-cooperative during questioning and did not provide relevant information related to the collection, handling and use of the alleged proceeds of crime.

Incentive payment mechanism and regional impact

During the investigation, the ED said the special incentive for custom rice milling for the Kharif season 2021-22 was increased from ₹40 to ₹120 per quintal. Subsequently, according to the agency, an alleged syndicate involving office-bearers of the Chhattisgarh State Rice Millers Association and MARKFED officials collected cash from rice millers at the rate of ₹20 per quintal in exchange for releasing incentive payments.

According to the ED, bills of millers who refused to make the alleged illegal payments were deliberately withheld. The agency alleges that around ₹147 crore was illegally collected in this manner between December 2022 and July 2023, which has been treated as proceeds of crime under the PMLA.

The investigation has also revealed that Ram Gopal Agrawal allegedly played a key role in organising, monitoring and controlling the cash collection. According to the ED, details of cash collected at the district level were provided to Roshan Chandrakar, the then treasurer of the association, who allegedly forwarded district-wise collection details to Agrawal for verification, after which the cash was delivered to persons nominated by him. The ED said further investigation into the case is ongoing.

Our previous report covered the ED's ongoing PMLA investigation into alleged fraud cases involving cooperative societies and banks in Kerala, where alleged proceeds of crime of around ₹550 crore were estimated in 27 cases. It focused on actions including simultaneous searches at 17 locations linked to three major cases on 7 October 2026, the seizure of documents and digital evidence, and the freezing of alleged assets/deposits to compensate depositors.

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