ED made big allegations regarding I-PAC's connection with Delhi liquor scam (file photo)
Digital Desk, New Delhi. One of the firms under the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) scanner in the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) probe is Kolkata-based R Kanti Lal, whose name had earlier cropped up in the agency's probe into the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam linked to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
I-PAC is a consultancy firm that has been hired by many political parties including Trinamool Congress. The ED on Friday alleged that I-PAC spent around Rs 20 crore in Goa between 2021 and 2022, the funds allegedly being proceeds of crime from illegal coal mining.
To whom was the money sent?
According to the agency, before being used in Goa, this money was sent through other firms including R Kanti Lal firm in Kolkata. Documents reveal that the Income Tax Department had raided the Goa office of R Kanti Lal in January 2022.
Analysis of the seized data revealed that around Rs 45 crore was allegedly transferred to Goa through hawala channels. Investigators claim that this amount was used to finance election-related activities during the Goa Assembly elections in 2022.
The agency has accused AAP of being a major beneficiary of alleged proceeds of crime from the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. According to ED allegations, a part of Rs 45 crore sent to Goa was used to support AAP's election campaign in the state.
Whose names are included?
The probe agency alleged that in the I-PAC case, the funds were routed through R Kanti Lal as well as several other hawala operators before it reached I-PAC and its director Prateek Jain ahead of the Goa elections in 2022. The agency also raided the office of I-PAC as well as the premises of R Kanti Lal in Kolkata's Bada Bazaar area.
The ED investigation in the present case relates to the investigation by the CBI against businessman Anup Maji and several officials of Eastern Coalfields (a subsidiary of Coal India) into alleged illegal coal mining and theft in leasehold areas of West Bengal.
Who is Sagar Patel?
Another name that is common in both the cases is that of Sagar Patel. The agency claimed in its petition on Friday that as per the information received, around Rs 20 crore earned from crime was transferred from Kolkata to Goa through the R Kanti Lal firm.
The employee handling hawala transfers in Goa is Sagar Kumar Patel. Patel, who was an employee of R Kanti Lal in Goa, was also allegedly involved in transferring funds through hawala channels in the excise policy case.
Vehicles will talk to each other... From automatic braking to cashless treatment, what is the government's complete plan?