Kolkata, Dec. 2 (LatestNewsX) – The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Kolkata Zonal Office announced that it has seized assets valued at ₹199.67 crore in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. The move is part of a money‑laundering investigation into Prakash Vanijya Private Limited and its promoter‑director Manoj Kumar Jain, who reportedly deceived the Central Bank of India out of ₹234.57 crore.
“ED investigation revealed that funds were illegally diverted after obtaining credit facilities based on inflated financial statements and forged documentation, causing a loss of Rs 234.57 crore to the Central Bank of India. ED initiated an investigation under the provisions of PMLA, leading to attachment of multiple properties in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh worth Rs 199.67 crore through four provisional attachment orders, which were subsequently confirmed by the Hon’ble Adjudicating Authority,” ED said in a statement.
In a separate release, the ED also reported that it has issued provisional attachment orders to secure movable and immovable assets worth approximately ₹3.98 crore, including a residential flat, as part of its ongoing probe into a trade‑based money‑laundering (TBML) network that involves Yecnail Enterprises Private Ltd and several linked entities.
“The investigation has uncovered a sophisticated trade-based money laundering (TBML) scheme in which a syndicate created and controlled a network of shell importing entities to fraudulently remit funds outside India. These dummy companies declared imports of low‑value stones as high‑value precious and semi‑precious stones, using over‑invoiced import documents and fabricated valuation reports prepared in collusion with government‑approved valuers and customs house agents (CHAs). Funds were first layered through multiple shell entities within India and then remitted abroad as purported import payments, enabling the syndicate to illegally transfer hundreds of crores out of the country under the guise of legitimate trade,” the statement by ED read.
Over the past few months, the agency has intensified its operations in West Bengal, carrying out raids and search warrants in various pockets across the state.
ED’s renewed focus on high‑profile financial crime cases includes scrutiny of municipal cash‑for‑jobs schemes, coal smuggling, sand smuggling, and other major irregularities.
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