The Enforcement Directorate has attached immovable property of Trinamool Congress youth wing leader Vinay Mishra and his brother Vikas Mishra in connection with the cross-border cattle smuggling case.
The move came days after the agency arrested Vikas in the alleged illegal coal mining and theft case in West Bengal. The attached property, located in Kolkata, was acquired by the Mishras in May 2017 by buying the shares of a company named Anant Tradecom Private Limited for a consideration of ₹3.5 crore. The Central Bureau of Investigation is probing the case. Among those under the scanner are officers of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Customs Department. The CBI had earlier arrested Commandant Satish Kumar and one trader named Enamul Haque in the case related to smuggling of cattle to Bangladesh.
The agency alleged that from October 2016 to March 2017, the Mishras had received ₹6.1 crore from Haque. In order to purchase the shares of Anant Tradecom, funds were layered through accommodation entries from two Kolkata-based shell entities and by way of cash deposits in the accounts of family members.
In the coal theft case, the ED has carried out about 49 searches and recorded the statement of 40 persons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The agency has collected evidence establishing the proceeds of crime to the tune of ₹1,300 crore. The Mishra brothers received about ₹730 crore on behalf of some influential persons and also for themselves, the ED has alleged.
The money laundering probe is based on an FIR registered by the CBI in November last year, against Anup Majhi and others.
