SHILLONG: In a major crackdown on the alleged embezzlement of grassroots development funds in Meghalaya, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached immovable property worth ₹40 lakh belonging to Ismail R. Marak, the former Member of District Council (MDC) from the 16-Asanang Constituency.
The action, taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, intensifies the focus on the former politician, who is accused of benefiting from the diversion of public money meant for the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC).
The federal agency’s money laundering probe directly targets Marak following a corruption charge sheet filed before the Court of the Special Judge under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, in West Garo Hills, Tura.
That judicial proceeding originated from the Meghalaya Lokayukta Complaint Case No. 01/2019, which alleges offenses under Sections 7A, 12, and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Using those charges as a launchpad, the ED initiated its own parallel proceedings under the PMLA to rigorously trace and isolate the financial proceeds of the alleged crime.
The core of the investigation reveals how development funds were allegedly siphoned into Marak’s personal sphere.
The GHADC had originally received approximately ₹28.66 crore under the “Grant for Excluded Areas” scheme, out of which a specific allocation of ₹1 crore was earmarked for 49 development projects within Marak’s 16-Asanang Constituency.
However, the ED discovered that an advance amounting to 60 percent of the total project value was released to two contractors, Kubon Sangma and Nikseng Sangma, in direct violation of the Meghalaya Financial Rules, 1981.
These funds were released against work orders that investigators found were obtained using forged signatures. Ultimately, the 49 projects were never executed, and the advance money vanished.
The ED has successfully mapped out the money trail, identifying total proceeds of crime worth ₹52.60 lakh linked to the scam. Out of this amount, the former MDC allegedly received ₹19.60 lakh directly in cash.
The remaining ₹33 lakh was routed through banking channels to his wife, Pratibha Marak, originating from bank accounts tied to the two implicated contractors. According to the ED, the newly attached immovable property represents the equivalent value of these illicit funds.
This latest property attachment significantly escalates the legal pressure on Marak, building upon prior enforcement actions in the same case.
The ED had previously frozen bank account balances totaling ₹16.38 lakh under Section 17(1A) of the PMLA, a mandate that was subsequently validated and confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority.
The tightening noose around the accused follows a series of coordinated search operations conducted by the agency on December 4, 2025.
With a substantial portion of the assets now frozen or seized, the ED stated that its wider investigation into the grand embezzlement of the GHADC development funds and the subsequent laundering of those public resources remains active and in progress.
