Madhu Koda

Who is Madhu Koda?

Madhu Koda, also written as Madhu Korah, is an Indian politician who was Chief Minister of Jharkhand from 2006 to 2008. He was sworn in as the fourth Chief Minister of Jharkhand on 14 September 2006, and remained in office until he resigned on 23 August 2008. Koda is the third independent legislator to assume the office of chief minister of an Indian state, including Biswanath Das in Orissa in 1971 and S. F. Khonglam in Meghalaya in 2002.

Koda was arrested by state police's vigilance wing on 30 Nov 2009 in connection Madhu Koda mining scam. On 31 July 2013, he was released on bail from Birsa Munda prison in Ranchi. His wife Geeta Koda, MLA from Jaganathpur in West Singhbhum district is among the six MLAs representing smaller regional parties supporting the Congress- Jharkhand Mukti Morcha coalition government led by Hemant Soren formed on 13 July 2013.

A Special money-laundering court in Delhi has attached Koda's properties worth ₹ 144 crores in a disproportionate assets case against his alleged assosiates. It found that the properties were involved in the offence of laundering under the provisions of The Prevention Of Money Laundering Act in a case probed by Enforcement Directorate. Some of the attached assets also belonged to Anil Adinath Bastawde, who was arrested by the ED in Jan 2013 from Jakarta and Manoj B Punamiya, an associate of Koda and an accused in the case. ED sources had said the amount of scam, which had allegedly taken place during Koda's regime between 2006 and 2008 had gone up to ₹ 3400 crores in the course of investigation and the amount excluded Bastawde's assets, who was an absconder for long time.