The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth $159.51 crore in connection with its probe related to alleged illegal mining and transportation of coal in West Bengal, the agency said on Wednesday. Political consulting firm I-PAC is also under investigation in the case.
“The ED headquarters office has attached valuable assets $“Rs 159.51 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with the ongoing investigation into large-scale illegal coal mining and theft in the leased areas of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL),” the ED said in a statement.
The investigation revealed that the illegal mining operations were carried out by a syndicate led by Anoop Majhi, also known as Lala, the ED said.
“Some beneficiary companies in West Bengal were found to have deliberately purchased illegally mined coal for cash, which helped hide the proceeds of crime and pass them off as legitimate. The assets attached include investments in transferable financial instruments such as corporate bonds and alternative investment funds held in the names of the beneficiary entities,” the ED said.
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According to the agency, the syndicate was involved in large-scale illegal excavation and coal theft, distributing coal to multiple factories in West Bengal with the active facilitation of local administrative elements.
“One of the main modus operandi involved the use of an illegal transfer system known as the ‘Lala Pad’, which was a fake tax invoice issued in the name of non-existent entities. Along with the fake transfer system, a banknote worth $10 or $20 were submitted to the carrier. The carrier takes a photo of the said coin while carrying it next to the number plate of the truck, tipper or tipper carrying the illegal coal and sends the photo to the coal union operator. The agency said the operator then distributes the image via WhatsApp to relevant police officials and other government authorities along the vehicle’s route, ensuring that the truck is not intercepted or is released immediately if it is intercepted.
The Emergency Management Department said its investigations also revealed the use of an underground hawala network to transfer crime proceeds in cash, bypassing official banking channels.
To date, the asset value has been attached $482 crores in the case.
The political consulting firm raised false invoices to justify receiving money from several outside entities “without providing any actual consulting or professional services,” the agency said Monday after the arrest of I-PAC director Vignesh Chandel.
According to ED officers, investigation revealed that I-PAC was involved in money laundering worth $50 Crores.
“The company is allegedly involved in laundering proceeds of crime to the tune of several crore rupees. The amount detected so far is approx. $“Rs 50 crore,” said an officer.
