NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Vinesh Chandel, director of political consultancy I-PAC, in connection with a money laundering probe linked to a case related to alleged illegal mining and transport of coal in West Bengal, officials said on Monday.
The arrest comes more than a week after the agency launched fresh raids on I-PAC on April 2, including Chandel’s home and the residences of another director, Rishi Raj Singh, and former Aam Aadmi Party communications officer, Vijay Nair.
Chandel has been taken into custody from Delhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and will be produced before the court on Tuesday, officials said.
Erectile dysfunction has been claimed to be around $Rs 20 crore of proceeds of crime generated in a coal mining racket in West Bengal were transferred through hawala channels to I-PAC.
Earlier in January, a dramatic raid on the office of I-PAC and its director Pratik Jain sparked a legal battle with the West Bengal government. The ED has accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of obstructing searches and removing evidence, while Banerjee alleged that the ED was trying to seize documents related to election strategy from I-PAC premises just before the Assembly elections.
Banerjee alleged that the CEO targeted I-PAC, which works with the Trinamool Congress (TMC), to steal party data.
The ED’s money laundering probe is based on the Central Bureau of Investigation’s 2020 FIR on allegations that coal was illegally mined at Eastern Coalfields Ltd’s mines in Kunusturia and Kagura in West Bengal.
The agency had earlier questioned TMC National Secretary and Member of Parliament Abhishek Banerjee, alleging that he was a beneficiary of illegal mining funds.
I-PAC said in a statement in January that its role is limited to transparent and professional political consultations, free from the influence of political ideology.
“We believe in this [the raids] It raises serious concerns and sets a worrying precedent. “Regardless, we have provided full cooperation… and participated in the process in full compliance with the law,” the statement added.
