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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached ₹10.29 crore of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the form of demand draft in connection with its money laundering probe against Alchemist Group, headed by former Rajya Sabha member K D Singh, the agency said on Monday.
The agency alleged that Alchemist Airways Private Limited made payments worth ₹10.29 crore to various aviation or helicopter companies for aviation services availed by the TMC party during the campaigning for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections for its star campaigners like chief minister Mamta Banerjee, Mukul Roy, Munmun Sen, Nusrat Jahan, and others.
“ED, Delhi Zonal office, has provisionally attached an amount of ₹10.29 crore of All India Trinamool Congress party in the form of a demand draft tendered by it during the investigation into the offence of money laundering by Alchemist Group and others. The Alchemist group is headed by Kanwar Deep Singh, ex-member Rajya Sabha,” ED said in a statement.
KD Singh was arrested by the financial crimes probe agency in January 2021.
Its probe under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is based on multiple first information reports (FIRs) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Kolkata police and Uttar Pradesh police against various individuals and group companies of Alchemist Group.
“ED investigation revealed that Alchemist Group collected funds amounting to more than ₹1,800 crore from investors in its companies namely, Alchemist Holdings Limited and Alchemist Township India Limited on the false promise of providing high returns and giving flats, villas, plots, high rate of interest on the investments to the public or investors. However, the investors were never returned their money and the funds siphoned off or diverted to various group companies of Alchemist Group,” the agency said on Monday.
The probe, according to ED, revealed that “a part of money collected by cheating the public was used by Alchemist Group for making payments to aviation companies on behalf of All India Trinamool Congress”.
“An amount of ₹10.29 crore was paid by Alchemist Airways Pvt Ltd to various aviation or helicopter companies for the aviation services availed by All India Trinamool Congress party during the campaigning for 2014 Lok Sabha elections for its star campaigners like Mamta Banerjee, Mukul Roy, Munmun Sen, Nusrat Jahan, etc,” the agency added.
The federal agency had claimed in January 2021 after Singh’s arrest that the company launched an illegal collective investment scheme, also called a ponzi or chit fund scheme, and mobilised funds from the public in the years preceding 2015. The firm allegedly launched the scheme “without the approval” of the Sebi (Securities and exchange board of India) and led to cheating of gullible investors, it said at that time.
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