New Delhi: Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), the consultancy firm engaged by a host of political parties including the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), used “Rs 20 crore proceeds of crime” in Goa between 2021 and 2022, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged in a writ petition filed before the Calcutta High Court Friday.
These “proceeds of crime”, the agency submitted, were generated from illegal coal excavation in West Bengal by an organised syndicate allegedly led by Anup Majee.
The funds were routed through the firm R. Kanti Lal in Kolkata and via several other hawala operators before reaching I-PAC and its director Pratik Jain for use in the coastal state that went to the polls in 2022, the agency alleged. Jain’s residential premises as well as the office of the firm providing consultancy services to West Bengal’s ruling TMC since 2019 were among the premises searched by the ED Thursday.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rushed to Jain’s residence and I-PAC’s office in Kolkata shortly after reports of the raids emerged, alleging that the ED was attempting to collect information about her party’s activities and plans ahead of state polls this year. The allegation was denied by the ED in a statement soon after.
In the petition before the high court, the ED alleged that while officials were briefing Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma over the search proceedings, Banerjee entered Jain’s premises despite a “categorical request” not to interfere in the proceedings, and took away digital devices and documents from the agency’s assistant director-level officer who was leading the search. The agency has urged the high court to order a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the incident.
Both ED and TMC’s petitions were listed before the high court Friday, but the hearing could not take place due to commotion. The hearing has now been scheduled for 14 January.
On the ED’s specific allegations, an I-PAC spokesperson refused to comment to ThePrint and said any response would come in due course through official channels.
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ED’s charges against I-PAC
ED’s probe stems from a CBI case against businessman Anup Majee and several officials of Eastern Coalfield (a subsidiary of Coal India) involving alleged illegal coal excavation and theft in leasehold areas in West Bengal. According to the ED, coal was later sold at various factories/plants in Bankura, Bardhaman, Purulia and other districts of the state.
In its probe, the ED said it found that the coal smuggling syndicate illegally excavated approximately 25.51 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of coal, valued at around Rs 1,114.35 crore.
The agency alleged in its submissions that the Majee-led syndicate generated proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 2,742.32 crore between December 2017 and October 2020.
In the petition filed before the high court, the ED said a WhatsApp conversation between Majee’s accountant Niraj Singh and his close associate and former in-charge of Bankura police station Ashok Kumar Mishra from 26 August 2020 showed that Kolkata-based firm R. Kanti Lal was used for transfer of proceeds of crime through illegal channels. Mishra was arrested by the agency in 2021 and is out on bail.
“Intelligence was received that around Rs 20 crore of proceeds of crime from Kolkata to Goa was transferred through R. Kanti Lal firm. The employee who handled the hawala transfers at Goa is Sagar Kumar Patel,” the agency claims in the petition.
The premises of R. Kanti Lal were among locations raided by the ED in Kolkata Thursday.
The agency further submitted that Patel, during questioning, led the investigators to one Akshay Kumar, who confessed to having received cash in Goa via a hawala channel arranged by Pankaj Malik, proprietor of ASM Event Technology.
The agency has identified Akshay as an employee of the event management companies Hertz and Pixelz, and ASM Event Technology.
In the petition, the ED further submitted that Akshay was examined twice—on 26 October 2023 and 10 January 2024—during which he claimed that the two firms worked for I-PAC and managed events between 2021 and 2022.
Giving further details of the alleged flow of funds, the agency said that an employee of R. Kanti Lal, Alpesh Patel, admitted during questioning that he had arranged Rs 20 crore cash in Goa from Kolkata, which was to be given to Akshay Kumar. Patel, ED said, also led the investigators to one Mukesh Patel, at whose request he arranged the funds.
Identified as the owner of Rajesh Maganlal firm, Mukesh Patel led investigators to one Mukesh Thakkar alias Munna at whose request he arranged the funds, says the ED.
Munna finally led investigators to a Kolkata-based businessman running a non-banking financial company (NBFC), Jitendra Mehta, whom the agency alleged had assisted in transferring the “proceeds of crime”.
“Jitender Mehta has assisted in transferring the proceeds of crime through hawala from Kolkata to Goa. He has assisted in transferring Rs 20 crore to Goa to be used by I-PAC in Goa,” ED said in the petition.
“As per information, Pratik Jain, Co-founder and Director of I-PAC, has handled I-PAC operations in Goa. The funds have been handed over to Akshay Kumar, who is an employee of Hertz and Pixel and ASM Event Technology which have admittedly worked for I-PAC in Goa,” it added.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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