ED seizes Rs 3 crore from Kolkata businessman in lottery scam

Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday seized around Rs 3 crore from a businessman's house in Kolkata, as part of its ongoing probe into a high-profile lottery scam.

The central agency has been conducting search operations at multiple locations in West Bengal since Thursday in connection with the alleged scam, an official said.

According to a senior ED officer, the raids uncovered approximately Rs 3 crore in cash, although the counting process was still ongoing.

A note-counting machine was brought to the businessman’s residence on Kavi Bharati Sarani in the southern part of the city to facilitate the tallying of the seized money.

The agency had also brought similar equipment to another location in Madhyamgram, in North 24 Parganas district, where search operations have been underway since Thursday.

In Madhyamgram, the ED's search focused on a building in Micheal Nagar, which was reportedly being used as both an office and a godown for the alleged lottery operation.

The officer said while several important documents had been seized, they were still investigating the financial aspect and could not yet confirm the amount of money seized from that location.

"The search is on. We have seized several documents, but cannot talk about the money part at the moment," an ED official said.

The ED investigation into the lottery scam is part of a broader money laundering probe, with officials suggesting that the scam may involve several influential people.

The lottery tickets, it appears, were being printed and distributed from the same building in Madhyamgram, the official added.

The ED's action comes after the agency launched nationwide search operations in multiple states, including West Bengal, Sikkim, and Tamil Nadu.

In Tamil Nadu, the ED had previously attached assets worth over Rs 277 crore as part of the investigation into the same scam.