New Delhi, April 15 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally seized assets valued at Rs 159.51 crore as part of its ongoing investigation into extensive illegal coal mining and pilferage within the leasehold regions of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), as stated in an official announcement on Wednesday.

This action was executed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The inquiry has uncovered that the illegal mining activities were reportedly operated by a syndicate led by Anup Majee, also known as “Lala”.

The ED has indicated that several beneficiary companies in West Bengal deliberately purchased illegally mined coal in cash, thus facilitating the concealment and misrepresentation of crime proceeds as legitimate earnings.

The seized assets encompass investments in financial instruments, including corporate bonds and alternative investment funds, registered under the names of beneficiary firms such as Shyam Sel and Power Limited and Shyam Ferro Alloys Limited.

These companies are part of the Shyam Group, overseen by Sanjay Agarwal and Brij Bhushan Agarwal.

Further investigations have revealed that the syndicate was involved in widespread illegal excavation and coal pilferage, supplying the illicit material to various factories throughout West Bengal, allegedly with the assistance of local administrative elements.

A notable method employed by the ED included the use of an illegal transport challan system referred to as the “Lala pad”, which served as a fraudulent tax invoice issued under the names of fictitious entities.

Moreover, transporters were allegedly provided with a Rs 10 or Rs 20 currency note along with the counterfeit challan. They would capture a photograph of the note next to the number plate of the vehicle transporting the illegal coal and share it with syndicate operators.

These images were subsequently distributed via WhatsApp to select officials along the transit route, ensuring that the vehicles were not halted or were swiftly cleared if they were.

The ED has also revealed the existence of an underground hawala network used to transfer crime proceeds in cash, circumventing traditional banking systems. Transactions were verified using unique identifiers—typically the serial number of a currency note exchanged between the sender and recipient—allowing cash transfers without documentation and creating minimal audit trails.

With this recent move, the total value of assets seized in this case has escalated to Rs 482.22 crore. The ED has indicated that the case involves multiple layers of intricate financial transactions aimed at obscuring the origin and ownership of illicit funds.

The ED continues its investigation to identify ultimate beneficiaries, trace further proceeds of crime, and ascertain the involvement of all individuals in the laundering network.