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ED Claims Obstruction during Coal Smuggling Searches in I-PAC; CM Mamata Banerjee Questions Motive
Moneylife Digital Team 08 January 2026
Economy & Nation
The directorate of enforcement (ED) on Thursday said it was conducting search operations at 10 locations across West Bengal and Delhi in connection with its money laundering investigation into an alleged coal smuggling syndicate led by Anup Majee, but claimed that the proceedings are obstructed at certain premises. ED alleged that the situation escalated following the arrival of West Bengal chief minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee, accompanied by a large contingent of state police personnel. According to the agency, the CM entered the residential premises of Prateek Jain, co-founder and director I-PAC (Indian Political Action Committee) and removed key physical documents and electronic devices that are part of the ongoing investigation. 
 
Reacting strongly to the ED raids, Ms Banerjee says, “Is it the duty of (Union) home minister Amit Shah and ED to take away all my party documents? If I go to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office, what will be the result? Under the special intensive revision (SIR), five lakh names have been deleted. Just because there is an election, they are taking away all my party’s documents.”
 
 
The West Bengal police have registered a first information report (FIR) against officials of ED for alleged trespassing and criminal intimidation. According to reports, the West Bengal police are likely to arrest ED officers involved in alleged trespassing and criminal intimidation.
 
ED moves Calcutta High Court, saying CM Banerjee obstructed its investigation and forcibly moved evidence from the search location. Calcutta HC has reportedly given its nod to file the case and the hearing is likely on Friday.
 
According to the agency, one hawala operator involved in layering the proceeds of coal smuggling facilitated transactions amounting to tens of crores of rupees to I-PAC.  ED says entities and individuals linked to the generation of illegal proceeds, hawala operators, and handlers are covered in Thursday’s search action.
 
I-PAC is known for managing the IT cell and providing election management support to Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC).
 
According to ED, searches are carried out at six locations in West Bengal and four in Delhi under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The action is linked to allegations of large-scale theft and illegal excavation of coal from leasehold areas of Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) in West Bengal.
 
 
The agency says the searches are initiated based on a first information report (FIR) registered by central bureau of investigation (CBI) in Kolkata on 27 November 2020, following which ED recorded an enforcement case information report (ECIR) the next day. The investigation has revealed that coal stolen from ECL areas was allegedly sold to factories and industrial units located in districts such as Bankura, Bardhaman and Purulia.
 
ED claimed that a substantial portion of the illegally mined coal was sold to companies belonging to the Shakambhari group. Investigators also uncovered links with hawala operators, with statements and documentary evidence indicating that proceeds of crime were routed through informal money transfer channels.
 
The agency stated that the search proceedings were being conducted in a peaceful and professional manner when senior officials of Kolkata police arrived at one of the premises to verify the identity of the ED officers. The commissioner of police, Kolkata, also visited the premises and was briefed by the authorised officer, who showed his official identification.
 
ED further claimed that the chief minister’s convoy subsequently went to the office premises of I-PAC, from where physical documents and electronic evidence were forcibly taken away by Ms Banerjee, her aides and state police personnel.
 
“These actions have resulted in obstruction in ongoing investigation and proceedings under the PMLA,” ED says in its statement.
 
The agency clarified that the searches are evidence-based and not targeted at any political establishment. It also stated that no political party office has been searched and that the action is not linked to any election. The searches, ED says, form part of its routine crackdown on money laundering and are being conducted strictly in accordance with established legal safeguards.
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