Kolkata, April 15 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it has attached fresh assets worth Rs 159 crore in its ongoing money laundering probe into the alleged illegal coal mining and pilferage racket in poll-bound West Bengal.

According to the agency, the newly attached assets comprise investments in movable financial instruments, including corporate bonds and alternative investment funds. These are held in the names of entities such as Shyam Sel and Power Ltd and Shyam Ferro Alloys Ltd, part of the Shyam Group, allegedly managed and controlled by Sanjay Agarwal and Brij Bhushan Agarwal.

The ED case originates from a November 2020 FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which flagged a multi-crore coal pilferage scam linked to Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) mines in Kunustoria and Kajora areas near Asansol. The agency has identified Anup Majee, alias Lala, as the alleged kingpin of the syndicate. Investigators claim that several companies "knowingly" procured illegally mined coal using cash, with the proceeds routed through layered financial transactions to mask their origin. The ED has so far attached assets worth Rs 322 crore in the case and estimates the total proceeds of crime at Rs 2,742 crore.

The probe has also drawn political attention following searches conducted on January 8 at the Kolkata offices of political consultancy firm Indian PAC Consulting Pvt Ltd (I-PAC) and premises linked to its director Pratik Jain. The ED alleged that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee interfered during the searches and removed key evidence-an allegation denied by the Trinamool Congress, which accused the agency of targeting election strategy documents ahead of the Assembly polls.

Separately, the ED has secured 10 days' custody of I-PAC director Vinesh Chandel, arrested on April 13 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency alleges that about Rs 50 crore in proceeds of crime linked to hawala transactions has been detected so far, with Chandel playing a direct role.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.