ED arrests I-PAC director Vinesh Chandel in Bengal coal case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Vinesh Chandel, director of political consultancy firm I-PAC, in connection with a money laundering probe linked to a case related to alleged illegal mining and transportation of coal in West Bengal, officials said on Monday. The arrest comes more than a week after the agency launched fresh raids on I-PAC on April 2, including at Vinesh Chandel’s residence. (LinkedIn/ Vinesh Chandel)

The arrest comes more than a week after the agency launched fresh raids on I-PAC on April 2, including at Chandel’s residence and the premises of another director, Rishi Raj Singh, and former communications in-charge of Aam Aadmi Party, Vijay Nair.

Officials said that Chandel was taken into custody from Delhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA and will be produced before a court on Tuesday.

ED has alleged that around ₹20 crore proceeds of crime generated in the West Bengal coal mining racket were transferred through hawala channels to I-PAC.

Earlier, in January, a dramatic raid on the office of I-PAC and its director, Pratik Jain, sparked a legal battle with the West Bengal government. ED had accused the chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, of obstructing its searches and removing evidence, while Banerjee alleged that ED was attempting to seize election-strategy-related documents from I-PAC premises just before the assembly elections.

Banerjee has alleged that the ED targeted I-PAC, which works with the Trinamool Congress (TMC), to steal the party's data.

ED’s money laundering probe is based on a Central Bureau of Investigation’s FIR of 2020 on allegations that coal was illegally mined at Eastern Coalfields Ltd‘s mines in Kunustoria and Kajora in West Bengal.

The agency had earlier questioned TMC national general secretary and member of parliament Abhishek Banerjee, alleging he was a beneficiary of funds from the illegal mining.

I-PAC said in January in a statement that its role is limited to transparent, professional political consulting, free of influence from political ideology.

“We believe this [the raids] raises serious concerns and sets an unsettling precedent. Regardless, we have extended full cooperation... engaging with the process in complete accordance and respect for the law,” the statement added.