ED attaches assets worth Rs 6 crore in illegal coal smuggling case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said that it has attached assets worth Rs 6 crore, jointly owned by West End Pigments and Chemicals Pvt Ltd and M/s Deshapran Properties Ltd, in connection with illegal coal mining. The property has been attached in connection with the illegal coal mine case, which is linked to Trinamool Congress (TMC) youth wing leader Vinay Mishra.

An ED official said that it has attached a plot of Rs 6 crore jointly owned by both the companies in Kolkata under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
During investigation, it was found that an advance amount of Rs 6 crore was transferred from the account of LTB Infraconsultants Pvt Ltd for the purchase of this property, the official said.

The official said, during further investigation it was found that the source of the said funds was from proceeds of crime, which were deposited in cash in the bank accounts of LTB Infraconsultants Pvt Ltd, owned by Vinay Mishra and Vikas Mishra.

Earlier, the financial probe agency had conducted searches at 46 different places in Delhi-NCR and Kolkata in connection with the case.

The official said that based on the result of the investigation conducted by the ED so far, a total proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 1,352 crore have been detected, out of which the agency had earlier attached immovable properties worth Rs 165.86 crore.
With this attachment, the total attachment in this case has reached Rs 171.86 crore, he said.

The ED has arrested Vikas Mishra and Ashok Mishra in connection with the case and a charge sheet has also been filed in the special court.