The seized cash in Kolkata. (PTI Photo)The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday recovered Rs 17.32 crore in cash during raids on the premises of a businessman in Garden Reach in Kolkata’s Port Area and other places in connection with an alleged fraud committed through a mobile gaming application, officials said.
The agency was carrying out search operations on six premises — three each under the jurisdictions of the Kolkata Police and Bidhannagar Police — linked to key accused, Aamir Khan, whose family is into transport business.
Aamir, who is in his thirties, is the son of Nesar Ahmad Khan who runs the family’s transport business. It is alleged that Aamir got a mobile gaming application, E-Nuggets, developed to defraud people. The raids were being conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Following the raids, TMC minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim hit out at the central agencies, alleging that the ED raids were part of a conspiracy to damage the economy of West Bengal. “They (Centre) somehow want to convey that one cannot do business in Bengal. And if one does, they will be harassed. Recently, there were some Income Tax (I-T) raids but they didn’t find anything. These raids are creating an environment of fear among businessmen. It is not good for the state’s economy.”
Hakim, however, added that if the agencies “find something wrong, then law will take its own course”. The initial statement by the ED said the seized amount was Rs 7 crore that went up to Rs 17.32 crore later in the day. “Huge cash has been found and counting of the currency is on. The search operation is also on,” read an ED statement.
The central agency officials said bundles of currency notes in the denominations of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 were recovered from the second floor of the house that is owned by Nesar Ahmad Khan, Aamir’s father.
The ED has registered a case on the basis of an FIR registered on February 15, 2021. The case was lodged against Aamir Khan and others at the Park Street police station under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 468 and 469 (forgery), 471 (fraudulently using as electronic device as genuine) and 34 ( acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
The case was filed on a complaint of the Federal Bank authorities in a Kolkata court.
The ED statement read, “Initially, the app gaming users were rewarded with commission and to build some trust balance from the wallet was allowed to be withdrawn without any hassle. But when users would start investing bigger amounts, the withdrawals were stopped all of a sudden on the pretexts like system upgradation. Thereafter, all their data was removed from the app server.”