A day after the Enforcement Directorate raided political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC)’s premises, the firm issued a statement, claiming that the organization remains “fully committed” to continuing their work ‘unfazed and unperturbed’.
“We have always upheld the highest standards of professional integrity in all that we do. Despite what transpired yesterday, we remain fully committed to continuing our work unfazed and unperturbed, with consistency and accountability guided by the same purpose that has shaped us from the start,” I-PAC said in its statement issued on Friday.
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted searches on the premises of I-PAC and its director, Pratik Jain, in Kolkata as part of a money laundering investigation.
What are ED’s claims against I-PAC?
In a statement, the Enforcement Directorate said the searches were carried out as part of its investigation into a 2020 case filed by the CBI against a coal smuggling syndicate allegedly headed by Anup Majhi, also known as Lala. He is accused of illegally mining coal from Eastern Coalfields’ leasehold areas in and around Asansol in West Bengal’s Paschim Bardhaman district.
The ED claimed that a hawala operator linked to the coal smuggling network had routed transactions worth several crore rupees to Indian PAC Consulting Pvt Ltd, the registered company of I-PAC.
As per the probing agency’s allegations, I-PAC was among the entities connected to hawala funds – with the ED claiming that the searches were being conducted in a peaceful and professional manner until the West Bengal CM arrived at the premises.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that ED officials were trying to seize the Trinamool Congress’s hard disks, internal documents and sensitive organizational data during a search at the residence of I-PAC chief Prateek Jain.
(This is a developing story. Keep checking for more updates)
