The Enforcement Directorate (ED) late on Monday arrested Vinesh Chandel, co-founder and director of political consultancy firm I-PAC, in connection with a coal smuggling-linked money laundering investigation that has intensified political friction in West Bengal ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.
Chandel was taken into custody in Delhi under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The arrest follows a search operation at his residence on April 2, during which ED investigators reportedly recovered documents linked to the ongoing probe.
The case originates from a 2020 First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which alleged a multi-crore coal pilferage racket operating in West Bengal. The alleged network is centred around the mines of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) in Asansol and adjoining regions, particularly Kunustoria and Kajora.
As part of the wider probe, the ED has earlier conducted searches across multiple cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. These included the Delhi office of Chandel, the Bengaluru office of I-PAC co-founder Rishi Raj Singh, and premises linked to Vijay Nair, former communications chief of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in Mumbai.
The agency has also questioned TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee multiple times in connection with the same investigation linked to alleged coal pilferage in the state.
Also read: ED raids I-PAC offices in Bengal coal scam probe
In January this year, ED searches at I-PAC’s Kolkata office and the residence of its founder Pratik Jain triggered a major political controversy. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the premises during the search operation, accompanied by senior officials including then Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar and former Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma.
Mamata Banerjee alleged at the time that the ED action was politically motivated and claimed the agency was attempting to access sensitive documents related to the Trinamool Congress’s electoral strategy. She was seen leaving the site carrying a green file, stating she was taking the documents in the interest of her party.
The episode escalated into a confrontation between the state administration and the federal agency, prompting the ED to move the Supreme Court. A bench comprising Justice P.K. Mishra and Justice N.V. Anjaria observed that the Chief Minister’s intervention during the search operation was “unwarranted.”
In its latest findings, the ED has also alleged that a hawala operator linked to the coal smuggling network facilitated transactions worth crores involving ‘Indian PAC Consulting Private Limited,’ the registered entity behind I-PAC.
The arrest of a senior executive from a prominent political consultancy firm has further heightened the political temperature in West Bengal, with elections approaching. Investigations in the case are continuing.
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