The complaint, filed on September 22, 2026, alleges that Sonwani received ₹45 lakh through Gramin Vikas Samiti (GVS), an institution he controlled, as purported corporate‑social‑responsibility funding in exchange for favouring the son and daughter‑in‑law of businessman Shravan Kumar Goyal in the 2021 CGPSC State Service Examination.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) quantified the total proceeds of crime in the case at ₹3.28 crore, comprising the ₹45 lakh CSR‑styled payment and an additional ₹3.13 crore allegedly collected from candidates who paid between ₹50 lakh and ₹60 lakh for advance access to question papers and guaranteed selection.
Seven individuals were named in the prosecution complaint: Sonwani; Shravan Goyal, director of Shri Bajrang Power and Ispat Ltd; Lalit Ganvir, then CGPSC Deputy Controller of Examinations; Utkarsh Chandrakar, nephew of former CM aide K.K. Chandravanshi; Anil Chandrakar, Utkarsh’s brother‑in‑law; Dr. Vikas Chandrakar, a medical officer who acted as recruiter; and Additional Collector Chetan Borghariya, then Officer on Special Duty in the chief minister’s office.
According to the ED, Ganvir simultaneously served as treasurer of GVS and as a joint authorised signatory of its Bank of Maharashtra account, facilitating the movement of illicit funds. The agency also traced cash deposits of ₹72.18 lakh in Utkarsh Chandrakar’s account and ₹69.85 lakh in Borghariya’s accounts, treating them as proceeds of crime.
The alleged examination‑paper‑leak operation began with the preliminary CGPSC test on 13 February 2022, followed by the main exam from 26‑29 May 2022 and interviews in September. The final result was announced on 11 May 2023. The ED claims Utkarsh Chandrakar assembled about 30 candidates at Siddhi Vinayak Marriage Palace a day before the preliminary test and distributed copies of the leaked paper.
Candidates who paid for the illicit service were reportedly housed in preparation camps at Barnawapara (Balodabazar) from 8‑25 May 2022 and at Hotel Venkatesh International in Raipur before the mains. When many did not secure the promised positions, refund demands were made, prompting a complaint that reached the chief minister’s residence in March‑April 2023, after which K.K. Chandravanshi allegedly instructed Anil Chandrakar to settle the matter.
The investigation builds on an FIR filed by the Chhattisgarh Economic Offences Wing, a separate FIR by state police in Balod district, and a 2024 complaint by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which had previously filed chargesheets in 2025 and arrested Sonwani in 2024. The ED’s latest filing moves the case toward trial, where the accused face charges of money laundering, criminal conspiracy and corruption.