Jharkhand High Court on Friday directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Registrar of Companies (RoC) to probe money-laundering allegations against chief minister Hemant Soren and his brother Basant Soren.

The Soren brothers and their close associates have been accused of amassing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income and also money laundering through shell companies.

The court has ordered a probe into the allegations and asked the agencies to submit reports within two weeks. The Soren brothers are also accused of acquiring properties such as hotels and malls with resources not officially disclosed.

The direction from the court came on a plea filed by Shiv Shankar Sharma, an RTI activist. Sharma had in his petition alleged that Hemant, Basant and their family had made money through illegal means and invested this in about 30 companies to convert it into white money through two businessmen close to them — Amit Aggarwal and Ravi Kejriwal.

The high court directed the RoC to carry out a detailed investigation against the alleged shell companies (more than 28) named in the petition.

Jharkhand advocate-general Rajiv Ranjan said in a media conference on Friday evening that petitioner Sharma filed the PIL on April 8, 2021.

“Earlier in 2013, a person named Indranil Sinha had filed a PIL whose contents and related documents were copied and pasted (in Sharma’s PIL). When the PIL was filed in 2013, it was dismissed and a fine of Rs 50,000 was imposed by the high court. Despite this, the PIL has been filed again in 2021, citing the same papers. As the ED has also been made a party to the case, a report has been sought from the agency on behalf of the court within two weeks,” he said.