The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recovered more than Rs 7 crore in cash during searches underway at six locations in Kolkata Saturday in connection with a probe into a mobile application that allegedly cheated investors of their money, officials said. The searches, carried out on premises linked to a businessman under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), are still continuing, they said, adding that counting of the recovered cash is also in progress. According to ED officials, bundles of cash were seized from the second floor of a house owned by Naser Khan, who runs a transport business. Amir Khan, the younger son of Naser Ahmed Khan, had launched a mobile gaming application called E-Nuggets, which initially rewarded investors with a commission and allowed hassle-free withdrawal of the balance in their wallets, they said. Soon, users began investing bigger amounts in the hopes of getting higher commission. Once a hefty amount was collected from users, they were prevented from making withdrawals on various pretexts, officials revealed. Thereafter, all data of users, including their profile information, was allegedly wiped off the app’s servers, they added. The ED had registered a case in this regard against Aamir Khan and others based on a complaint by Federal Bank authorities on February 15, 2021. Reacting to the incident, Trinamool Congress minister Firhad Hakim said, "I have a feeling that they (the Centre) want to damage the state's economy. If someone is found doing something wrong, then I have nothing to say – the law will take its own course. However, I feel there is an intention to create an environment of fear in businessmen so that they restrain from doing business in Bengal. Recently, the income tax department had also raided some premises, but found no money." Meanwhile, senior CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty slammed the ruling TMC. "The bigger the leader, the bigger the thief and that is the truth of Trinamool Congress," he said. The accused were charged under IPC sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 469 (forgery), 471 (whoever fraudulently or dishonestly uses electronic device as genuine) and 34 (acts by several persons in furtherance of common intention) by Park Street police station.
