ED Seizes Rs 1.01 Crore, Freezes Luxury Cars in Bengal Trafficking Money-Laundering Raids

Overview

• The Enforcement Directorate conducted coordinated searches on November 7 at six to eight locations in Kolkata, Bidhannagar/Salt Lake, and Siliguri under the PMLA, with CAPF personnel escorting teams.
• Officials reported seizing more than Rs 1.01 crore in cash along with digital devices and property records, and freezing a Land Rover Defender and a Jaguar linked to suspects.
• The probe stems from multiple FIRs and chargesheets, including cases dating back to 2015, naming Jagjit Singh, Ajmal Siddiqui, Bishnu Mundra, and their associates under the IPC, Arms Act, and Immoral Traffic Prevention Act.
• ED findings describe a network using bar-cum-restaurants and dance bars to coerce women after false job offers, with proceeds routed through companies showing rapid deposits and withdrawals consistent with layering.
• Investigators are reviewing potential hawala or overseas transfers tied to the network, and plastic notes used as in-premises currency were recovered from dance bars.