ED recovers Bangladeshi currency during raid at Trinamool leader’s office

KOLKATA: Following a marathon raid, the Enforcement Directorate sleuths have recovered huge Bangladeshi currency from a foreign currency exchange dealing entity linked to Trinamool Congress leader Shankar Adhya, who is currently in ED custody over his alleged involvement in the ration distribution case in West Bengal.

Sources said that a total of 6,00,000 Bangladeshi Taka was recovered from that office located in the Park Street area in central Kolkata, whose value in Indian currency would be to the tune of a little over Rs 4,50,000/

Sources further said that the central agency sleuths are of the belief that this recovered currency has some links with the proceeds of the ration distribution case. Further investigation is on to track the source of this foreign currency recovered.

Since Monday morning, different teams of ED conducted raid and search operations at several places in Kolkata, most of which are offices of foreign currency exchange dealing entities somehow having links with Adhya.

The ED sleuths, on Monday, also raided the office of Arvind Singh, a chartered accountant by profession who used to handle the accounts of Adhya.

Adhya was arrested earlier this month in the ration distribution case. ED has already informed a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Kolkata that crores of rupees were first converted into foreign currency through foreign exchange dealing entities linked to Adhya and then parked overseas, mainly in Dubai, through the hawala route. ED sleuths have also tracked hawala links in neighbouring Bangladesh.

Adhya was known as a close confidant of West Bengal Forest Minister and former state food and supplies minister Jyotipriya Mallick, who is currently in judicial custody because of his alleged involvement in the ration distribution case.