13 January,2021 01:20 PM IST | Mumbai | IANS
Picture used for representational purpose only
In a major action, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested Trinamool Congress's (TMC) former Rajya Sabha member K.D. Singh in connection with a money laundering case, officials said. The TMC maintained that the party has not been in contact with Singh for a long time.
An ED official related to the probe requesting anonymity told IANS, "The agency has arrested Singh in connection with the money laundering probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)."
The official said that he will be produced in a court later in the day.
Singh was a Rajya Sabha member of the Trinamool Congress from 2014.
The TMC leaders said that they had no contact with Singh for a long time.
Speaking to the media, Kunal Ghose spokesperson of the TMC said, "Singh was brought to the party by Mukul Roy and he was made a Rajya Sabha member. And now the party has no connection with Singh for a long time."
The arrest is being seen as a major action ahead of the Assembly elections in the state scheduled later this year.
In September 2019, the ED had carried out searches at the premises of Singh in a money laundering probe related to Alchemist Infra Realty LLC in Rs 1,900 crore money laundering case.
The ED had registered a case of money laundering against Alchemist Infra Realty LLC, a firm related to Singh and others, on the basis of a prosecution complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on March 18, 2016.
In January 2019, the ED attached properties to the tune of Rs 239 crore of the group.
The ED investigations revealed that funds mobilised by the Alchemist Infra Realty Ltd. from various investors were never utilized for the purpose for which they were collected. The funds were transferred to the bank accounts of other group companies which were mainly paper companies from where they were systematically siphoned off by the accused and used to purchase properties at various locations in the country, the ED official had said early this year.
Singh had resigned as Chairman of the Alchemist Group in 2012.
In August 2019, Singh was also questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Narada sting operation case.
In 2016, Mathew Samuel, the Editor and Managing Director of Narada news portal, had broadcast a sting video just before the West Bengal Assembly elections.
In the video, a number of TMC leaders, including MPs and Ministers, were allegedly seen taking money on camera. The ED has recorded statements of several TMC leaders in the Narada Sting case also.
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