- Vinesh Chandel, I-PAC co-founder, was arrested in a money-laundering case by ED in Delhi
- The case is linked to an alleged coal scam in West Bengal involving Eastern Coalfields Ltd mines
- ED raided properties of I-PAC co-founders and a former AAP official in multiple cities
Vinesh Chandel, the co-founder of political consulting firm I-PAC, has been arrested in a money-laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The case is linked to an alleged coal scam in West Bengal.
The ED took Chandel into custody in Delhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED on April 2 had also raided his property in Delhi, apart from the properties of another I-PAC co-founder Rishi Raj Singh in Bengaluru, and former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) communications in-charge Vijay Nair in Mumbai.
I-PAC's office and the house of one of its directors, Pratik Jain, in Kolkata was raided by the central agency in January. The raid became controversial after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee came with some state government officials to the location.
The ED case is linked to a first information report (FIR) filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in November 2020 that alleged a coal pilferage in Eastern Coalfields Ltd's mines in West Bengal's Kunustoria and Kajora, in and around Asansol.
The ED has said a "hawala" operator linked to the alleged coal-smuggling ring had helped move tens of crores of rupees to Indian PAC Consulting Pvt Ltd, the firm that runs I-PAC.
The investigation has revealed that the funds were sent via a company based in Mumbai. This company had previously come under the watch of investigative agencies during the probe into the Delhi liquor policy case.
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee in a post on X said the arrest of Chandel 10 days before voting in the Bengal election is not just alarming, but "shakes the very idea of a level playing field."
West Bengal will vote in two phases later this month. Counting is on May 4.
