‘Rs 20 crore routed to I-PAC via hawala’: Coal smuggling proceeds of crime moved from Kolkata to Goa, claims ED

I-PAC, founded by election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, is managing the election campaigns of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress. On Thursday, the ED conducted searches at 10 premises associated with the firm in Kolkata and Delhi, including director Pratik Jain’s residence in Kolkata.

The genesis of the ED investigation lies in an FIR registered by the CBI on November 27, 2020, against Majee and several officials of Eastern Coalfield Ltd (ECL) for the “illegal excavation and theft of coal from the leasehold area of ECL in active connivance of the officials of ECL, CISF, Indian Railways and concerned other departments.”

The ED initiated its probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, noting that the charges under Sections 120B and 409 of the Indian Penal Code, as well as the Prevention of Corruption Act, constitute scheduled offences.

The investigation allegedly uncovered a massive coal smuggling syndicate led by Majee that operated by selling stolen coal to various factories in districts like Bankura and Purulia. “A significant portion of this coal was sold to the Shakambhari Group of companies, led by Deepak Agarwal, who allegedly paid in cash,” the ED petition stated.

“WhatsApp chats belonging to Niraj Singh, Anup Majee’s accountant, identified a hawala firm named ‘R Kanti Lal’ used for these transfers. Intelligence indicated that ‘around 20 crores of Proceeds of Crime from Kolkata to Goa was transferred through R Kanti Lal firm’ to support I-PAC operations in Goa during 2021-2022,” the petition states.

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“The money trail moved from Jitender Mehta, a financier and ex-director in Akasa Finance Limited, through Mukesh Thakkar (alias Munna), then to Mukesh Patel of the Rajesh Maganlal firm, and finally to Alpesh Patel, the manager of R. Kantilal. In Goa, the funds were handled by Sagar Kumar Patel and delivered to Akshay Kumar, an employee of M/s Hertz and Pixelz and M/s ASM Event Technology Private Limited,” the petition adds.

The ED then alleges that these firms were hired by I-PAC for event management. “Pratik Jain, Co-founder and Director of IPAC, has handled IPAC operations in Goa, where these funds were utilised,” it adds.

The probe into Majee’s syndicate has seen both the CBI and the ED make several high-profile arrests over the years. Among these is former inspector-in-charge of Bankura police station, Ashok Kumar Mishra, who was arrested in April 2021 after being accused of being the lynchpin who facilitated the safe passage of trucks and the movement of cash under police protection, as per the ED.

ED sources claim the agency is focusing on hawala operators and handlers who allegedly moved the money to private firms. While the search on Thursday saw dramatic scenes as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee walked in during the raid at Jain’s residence and walked out holding a green plastic folder and a laptop, claiming that they contained important information about her party, sources said the agency has identified several new firms with links to businessmen from Kolkata.