The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday (April 2) conducted fresh raids at multiple locations linked to political consultancy firm I-PAC in connection with the West Bengal coal smuggling case. According to officials. The searches were carried out across Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Delhi as part of the agency's ongoing probe into an alleged coal smuggling and pilferage scam of West Bengal.
Officials said several premises associated with I-PAC were being searched simultaneously. Among those targeted was the Bengaluru residence of Rishi Raj Singh, which was also searched during the operation, officials added.
It is pertinent to mention that the I-PAC provides political consultancy services to West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress and also manages the party's IT and media operations.
Raids were conducted in January
Earlier in January, the federal probe agency conducted searches at the Kolkata office of I-PAC and at the premises of its director Pratik Jain as part of the same money laundering probe linked to the alleged multi-crore coal scam.
The action sparked a major political controversy after Mamata Banerjee, along with several Trinamool Congress leaders, entered the I-PAC office in Salt Lake while the searches were underway. The ED later alleged that Banerjee removed crucial evidence, including documents and electronic devices, from the premises.
Banerjee strongly denied the allegations, accusing the central agency of overstepping its authority.
Subsequently, the ED moved the High Court and later the Supreme Court of India, seeking an independent probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), citing alleged interference by the state government and the need for a neutral investigation.
The agency has also claimed that around Rs 10 crore in alleged proceeds of crime were routed to I-PAC through hawala channels, with the firm reportedly receiving payments from the All India Trinamool Congress for its role in the 2022 Goa Assembly elections.
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