Political consultancy firm I-PAC, which works with the Trinamool, acting through its directors, had created a web of financial transactions designed to convert black money into white, the Enforcement Directorate claimed Tuesday.
On Monday, the central agency arrested Vinesh Chandel, a director and co-founder of the I-PAC, in a money laundering case linked to an alleged coal scam in Bengal, which goes to polls on April 23 and 29.
The ED, which investigates financial crimes, initiated its investigation based on an FIR registered by the Delhi Police, which levels serious allegations such as fraud, criminal conspiracy, fraudulent accounting, and irregularities in accounts.
The probe agency claims that Chandel, the central figure behind all key decisions and the one who controlled the company's financial and operational affairs, played a direct role in routing the illicit proceeds through the system.
I-Pac co-founder Vinesh Chandel produced before a court in New Delhi
The most damning allegation made by the ED concerns the company's modus operandi - its method of functioning.
According to the agency, I-PAC received payments in two tranches: one portion via banking channels (checks/online transfers) and the other via cash or non-banking channels.
Documents obtained by the agency reveal entries resembling checks accounting for 50% of the transactions. It is further alleged that funds received from political parties are also included in these transactions.
The ED alleges that I-PAC generated numerous bogus invoices to justify funds received from various companies, even though no actual services or consultancy were rendered.
Through these fraudulent transactions, illicit funds were first routed through multiple layers and subsequently integrated into the system as legitimate earnings, the ED claimed.
The investigative agency informed the court that several entries were discovered in the company's accounts that lacked any genuine business purpose. This makes it evident that I-PAC was functioning as a conduit-that is a medium for circulating funds, it claimed.
The ED asserts that a 'Hawala' network was also utilised in this entire scheme, through which cash was transferred via illicit channels.
Statements recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) have also revealed that certain individuals associated with I-PAC were facilitating 'Hawala' transactions, the agency claimed.
This establishes that the company deliberately maintained a dual system-utilizing the banking system on one hand and unofficial channels on the other-in order to conceal the true source of the funds and portray them as legitimate business income, it added.
The ED has also alleged that Vineesh Chandel provided false and misleading statements during interrogation.
He denied the existence of cash transactions and misrepresented the company's operations, the agency said.
The agency claimed that Chandel, along with other directors, orchestrated the deletion of crucial emails and financial data from the accounts of company employees in an effort to destroy evidence.
Earlier, on April 2, the agency conducted searches at 11 premises across Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Vijayawada and Ranchi, covering offices of I-PAC, residences of its directors and premises of linked entities.
These searches had also led to the recovery of material related to alleged money laundering and hawala transactions.
The case had triggered a political confrontation between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP, and the matter also reached the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Monday heard arguments in pleas filed by I-PAC directors Rishi Raj Singh and Pratik Jain seeking quashing of ED summons issued to them in the coal smuggling case.
The matter is scheduled for further hearing on April 17.
