ED Moves Delhi HC Against TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee's FIR Against Its Officials
Abhishek Banerjee's FIR against ED officials investigating a money laundering case against him is a malicious attempt to derail the ongoing agency probe says ED.
The ED has approached Delhi HC with a plea against TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee alleging that he is trying to cause hindrances in the investigating process.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has earlier summoned Abhishek Banerjee and his wife for questioning in a money laundering case linked to an alleged coal scam in West Bengal.
Although Local coal operative Anup Majhi is the main accused in the coal scam, The ED has alleged that Abhishek Banerjee was the beneficiary of funds obtained from this illegal trade. As per reports, the agency has contended that documents seized by it show that ''Majhi assisted in transferring substantial funds derived from the proceeds of crime to Shri Abhishek Banerjee's close relatives (wife and sister-in-law) at London and Thailand.
As per ED’s plea before the Delhi High Court Banerjee had lodged a malicious FIR against ED officials and a particular news channel with the objective of thwarting the investigation process by creating undue pressure on the ED officers.
The case, registered under criminal sections of the PMLA, was filed by the ED after studying a November, 2020 FIR of the CBI that alleged a multi-crore coal pilferage scam related to Eastern Coalfields Ltd. mines in the state's Kunustoria and Kajora areas in and around Asansol.
The agency has made at least two arrests in this case. One of them is Vikas Mishra, the brother of TMC youth wing leader Vinay Mishra. Vinay Mishra is stated to have left the country sometime back and probably has also renounced his Indian citizenship.
The second person arrested by the ED in the case early this year is former Inspector in-charge of Bankura police station Ashok Kumar Mishra.
The ED had earlier claimed that the Mishra brothers received ''proceeds of crime worth Rs 730 crore on behalf of some influential persons and for themselves'' in this case involving an estimated amount of Rs 1,352 crore.
As per ED officials, a ''deep system'' of political patronage and a ''well-oiled'' machinery was used to brazenly carry out certain unlawful coal mining in West Bengal.
