New Delhi: I-PAC promoter and director Vinesh Chandel was arrested in Delhi on Wednesday, a day after India seized assets worth Rs 160 crore, including corporate bonds and alternative investment funds sham Ferro Alloys is controlled by Shyam Group’s Sanjay Agarwal in connection with investigations into the West Bengal coal mining scam.So far, the total amount involved in the case has exceeded 4.82 billion rupees.“The crime involved multiple layers of complex financial transactions designed to conceal the source and ownership of illicit funds,” the ED said, adding that it is continuing to peel back the layers to identify the ultimate beneficiaries, trace additional criminal proceeds and zero in on all those involved in money laundering.Currently, the ED investigation into the coal scam has shifted its focus to I-PAC, which in Chandel’s remand notice allegedly made huge proceeds of crime from illegal coal mining in the Eastern Coalfields Ltd lease area in West Bengal. However, the agency has not revealed the names of the political parties involved.The Enforcement Directorate said criminal documents related to false transactions and election expenditures were seized during a search of I-PAC premises on April 2. “The above documents were also found at the office of a political party and corroborated by statements recorded by the investigating officer,” the statement said, noting the alleged use of unaccounted funds for election expenses.Chandel has been a founding director of I-PAC since 2015, is an equal shareholder with Pratik Jain and Rishi Raj, and is a key decision-maker on operational and financial matters.“Significant amounts of funds were deposited into I-PAC’s accounts from various entities without any real business purpose, proving that the company acted as a conduit,” the agency said.The law enforcement agency added that the unaccounted cash was moved through hawala channels and recorded statements of persons associated with I-PAC. During the trial, Cheadle allegedly made “false and misleading statements,” denied cash transactions and misrepresented the company’s activities.
