The Enforcement Directorate has taken major action in the money laundering case related to the famous coal scam of West Bengal. The investigating agency has arrested Vinesh Chandel, director and co-founder of political consulting firm I-Pac. In this case, raids have already been conducted at many places and the investigation is progressing continuously. According to officials, Vinesh Chandel was detained in Delhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. ED took this action on Monday.
Earlier on April 2, ED had raided many places in Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. Apart from Chandel’s premises in Delhi, the premises of another I-PAC co-founder and director Rishi Raj Singh in Bengaluru and the premises of former Aam Aadmi Party communications in-charge Vijay Nair in Mumbai were also raided.
action was taken earlier also
Earlier on January 8, ED had raided the office of I-PACK and the Kolkata residence of its founder and director Prateek Jain in this case. During that time, the matter came into discussion when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reached the spot along with state government officials.
This investigation of ED is based on the FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in November 2020. In this FIR, allegations have been made of a coal theft scam worth crores of rupees related to the mines of Eastern Coalfields Limited located in Asansol and surrounding Kunustoria and Kajora areas of West Bengal.
Hawala connection also came to light
According to the ED, a hawala operator associated with this alleged coal smuggling gang had helped Indian PAC Consulting Private Limited, a registered company of I-Pac, in transactions worth crores of rupees. At present, ED’s investigation is going on in this entire matter and more revelations are expected in the coming time.
Vinesh Chandel is considered an important name in the world of Indian political strategy. He is one of the prominent faces and founders of the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), which he founded along with Prashant Kishor, Prateek Jain and Rishiraj Singh. Vinesh Chandel has been playing an active role in the strategic operations of the company and is considered to have special acumen in planning election campaigns. Especially in West Bengal, he made important contribution in the management of the election campaign of All India Trinamool Congress (TMC).
His strategic thinking and ground-level management have played a major role in making I-PAC one of the most influential political consultancy firms in India.
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