The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Bhubaneswar, on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, conducted searches at ten premises across Odisha and West Bengal in a money laundering case linked to Kalpana Financial Services Private Limited and its director Amit Mandal. The operation targets an alleged investment fraud that collected around ₹120 crore from approximately 600 depositors across the two states.

Background of the Fraud

The ED case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Odisha Police. According to the official statement, Kalpana Financial Services lured members of the public with promises of fixed monthly returns ranging between 3.5% and 7%, purportedly generated through share-market and trading activities.

Investigators found that Amit Mandal, a resident of South Boilapara under Bishnupur police station in Bankura district, West Bengal, collected more than ₹120 crore between 2020 and 2024, drawing in around 500 depositors from Odisha and 100 depositors from West Bengal.

How the Scheme Unravelled

The scheme operated as a classic Ponzi structure — monthly returns to earlier investors were funded by fresh deposits rather than any actual market gains. At its collapse, Mandal had outstanding repayment obligations of more than ₹40 crore. By 2023, he had stopped paying returns altogether, reportedly assuring depositors that their funds would be redirected into a newly incorporated entity, Kalpamit Consultancy Private Limited. He subsequently absconded, leaving hundreds of investors in financial distress.

The EOW arrested Mandal in December 2025 following a complaint lodged by a resident of Khordha district, Odisha. Wednesday's ED searches mark the federal agency's formal entry into the case under money laundering provisions.

Key Developments in the ED Investigation

The simultaneous searches across ten locations in Odisha and West Bengal are aimed at tracing the trail of the alleged laundered proceeds and identifying assets acquired through the scheme. The ED has not disclosed which specific locations were searched, but the action signals that investigators believe proceeds may have been layered across both states.

This comes amid a broader enforcement push by the ED's Bhubaneswar Zonal Office. In a separate money laundering matter, the office recently provisionally attached immovable property worth ₹24.60 crore under the PMLA involving M/s Maa Tarini Industries Limited (MTIL) and others — indicating a pattern of action against financial fraud operators in the Odisha region.

Impact on Depositors

The approximately 600 depositors — predominantly from Odisha and parts of West Bengal — have been awaiting recovery of their funds since the scheme imploded. For many, the promised fixed returns had made Kalpana Financial Services appear as a viable alternative to regulated investment products. The case underscores the continued vulnerability of retail investors to unregistered deposit-taking schemes that mimic legitimate financial instruments. With the ED now actively tracing assets, depositors may see some recovery if attachments lead to proceeds being returned through legal processes — though that outcome remains uncertain and subject to prolonged legal proceedings.