Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducts raids, seizes vehicles worth Rs 1cr

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has conducted search operations at seven places in West Bengal in connection with the Rose Valley chit fund scam and recovered vehicles having a total value of approximately Rs 1 crore.

The financial probe agency said it has been investigating a case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 against the company's then Chairman and Director Gautam Kundu along with other persons for allegedly cheating the public at large in the chit fund case.

Acting on a specific information, a search operation was conducted by ED on Wednesday and seven vehicles were seized, which includes 2 Mahindra Bolero, 1 Honda City, 1 Toyota Innova, 1 Tata Indica, 1 Hyundai Verna, and 1 Mahindra XUV having a total value of approximately Rs 1 crore.

These vehicles were found to have been acquired out of the Proceeds of Crime (POC) by the companies of Rose Valley Group, the ED said.

It also initiated a money-laundering investigation on the basis of FIRs registered by the West Bengal Police against Rose Valley Group of companies, its then chairman Gautam Kundu, and others. In the FIRs, it was alleged that these group companies had collected a huge amount of money from the common gullible public by floating fake and fictitious schemes and defaulted the re-payments.

Total POC has been quantified at Rs 6,666 crore, out of which the ED has already attached and seized properties worth Rs 1,103.71 crore.

The ED had also secured a conviction of Arun Mukherjee in the month of February this year. Further investigation is in progress. (IANS)

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