The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has attached properties worth Rs 13.63 crore of a company linked to TMC youth wing leader Vinay Mishra and arrested his brother Vikas Mishra in a money laundering probe.
The money laundering investigation is linked to an alleged illegal coal mining and pilferage case of West Bengal that involves the two brothers, local coal operative and kingpin Anup Maji and TMC MP and Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and his wife Rujira. Both Abhishek Banerjee and Rujira have been questioned by the agency in this case. A provisional order for attaching the two assets, located in Gopinathpur of Purba Bardhaman district of the state, was issued on July 19 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The immovable properties belong to Indo-American Electricals Limited (beneficially owned by LTB Infra consultant Pvt. Ltd.) in which Vinay Mishra and Vikas Mishra are directors and shareholders, the ED said in a statement. "Vinay Mishra and Vikas Mishra alias Chotu delivered proceeds of crime worth Rs 731 crore with help of business associates of Anup Maji alias Lala during July, 2018-March, 2020," the ED said.
The money laundering case stems from a November 2020 FIR registered by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that alleged a multi-crore-rupee coal pilferage scam related to Eastern Coalfields Limited mines in West Bengal's Kunustoria and Kajora areas in and around Asansol.
The ED has claimed that Mishra brothers received "proceeds of the crime worth Rs 730 crore on behalf of some influential persons and for themselves" in coal case involving an estimated amount of Rs 1,352 crore.