Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee with party general Secretary Abhishek Banerjee during party's "Janagarjan Sabha" rally against the Central Government, at Brigade Parade Ground, in Kolkata.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: In a first, the Enforcement Directorate has attached assets of a political party -- Trinamool Congress -- in connection with a money laundering case involving the Alchemist Group headed by former Rajya Sabha MP KD Singh.
In a statement, the agency said it has attached a demand draft worth Rs 10.29 crore of the Trinamool Congress. It said this fund was used by the company to "make payments for various aviation/helicopter companies for the aviation services availed" by the Trinamool Congress during the campaigning for 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Aircraft were used by the party for its "star campaigners" like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, party MLA and former railway minister Mukul Roy, actor Moon Moon Sen and MP Nussrat Jahan among others, the statement said.
"A part of the money collected by cheating the public was used by Alchemist Group for making payments to aviation companies on behalf of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)", it claimed.
Trinamool Congress RS Chief Whip Sukhendu Shekhar Roy said the ED action was in response to the party’s successful rally in Brigade Ground in Kolkata on Sunday. “People of Bengal gave a strong message to the ‘zamindars’ led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ED action on a 10-year-old case shows that the BJP is desperate as they know that they have lost Bengal,” he said.
The ED had initiated the investigation on the basis of FIRs registered by the CBI and UP Police against Alchemist Group and its officials.
It came to light during investigations that the Alchemist Group collected funds of around Rs 1,800 crore from investors in its companies Alchemist Township India Ltd and Alchemist Holdings Ltd on the "false promise" of providing them high returns and giving flats, villas, plots and high rate of interest on the investments, the ED said.
However, it said, the investors were never returned their money and the funds were allegedly siphoned off. Further investigations are on, the statement added.