Overview
- The Enforcement Directorate said evidence-based searches were underway at ten locations, including six in West Bengal and four in Delhi, tied to a 2020 coal smuggling money-laundering case.
- West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited I-PAC director Pratik Jain’s home and the firm’s Salt Lake office, alleging ED sought Trinamool’s hard disks, candidate lists and internal strategy files, and blaming Union home minister Amit Shah.
- In a court filing, the ED alleged Banerjee and police officers entered two premises and removed documents and electronic devices, calling it obstruction under the PMLA; I-PAC separately sought relief from the High Court.
- The ED has claimed proceeds of crime were routed through hawala and that about Rs 10 crore reached I-PAC, including for work linked to the TMC’s 2022 Goa campaign, assertions the agency says are supported by financial trails.
- No arrests were reported, and the dispute now focuses on custody of seized digital and physical materials, the legality of the search process, and political fallout ahead of the West Bengal assembly polls.