Kolkata, Sep 18 (NationPress) The future of West Bengal Minister Chandranath Sinha now depends on his explanations regarding the alleged fictitious financial transactions amounting to Rs 12.73 crore, which have been flagged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to the irregularities in the state's primary teacher recruitment.

A pivotal hearing is scheduled at a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kolkata this coming Saturday.

Sinha is likely to provide a response through his lawyer concerning the ED's previous assertions about the contested transactions in bank accounts that are either solely owned by him or jointly held with family members.

Insiders have indicated that the subsequent clarifications provided by Sinha through his attorney during the court session could influence the ED's decision to request the minister's custody for further interrogation.

According to sources, the ED is primarily interested in two key clarifications from Sinha regarding the alleged fictitious transactions. The first pertains to the origin of funds linked to a series of cash remittances credited to the bank accounts during a specified timeframe.

Additionally, the second inquiry addresses the absence of these transactions in the tax submissions of the minister and his family members.

The ED has informed the special court that, during interrogation, Sinha did not provide adequate responses concerning these issues.

The investigation has uncovered illicit transactions worth Rs 12.73 crore, purportedly associated with the irregularities in the recruitment of primary teachers, linked to bank accounts under the minister's and his family's names.

Information about these dubious transactions was detailed in the ED's sixth supplementary charge sheet submitted to the special court earlier this month.

On September 6, Sinha had presented himself before the same court as part of the agency's investigation into the alleged recruitment scam, where he was granted interim bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 under specific conditions.

In its charge sheet, the ED spotlighted a series of substantial cash deposits made in phases into a joint bank account owned by the minister and his spouse, Kuntala Sinha, at a public sector bank in Kolkata.

As per the sixth supplementary charge sheet, a total of Rs 1.18 crore was deposited in cash into this account between January 2016 and November 2019, marking the peak period of the alleged school recruitment fraud.