A legal representative, on behalf of Rishi Raj Singh, founder and one of the directors of political consultancy I-PAC, appeared before the ED and assisted officials in taking an electronic data dump from gadgets seized during raids conducted on April 2, sources said. On April 2, the ED carried out searches at 11 locations, including Rishi Raj Singh’s residence in Bengaluru.
The authorised representative “helped” ED officials extract electronic data from the seized gadgets, sources said.
On April 13, the ED arrested one of the founders and directors of I-PAC, Vipin Chandel.
The ED has alleged that I-PAC received proceeds of crime worth Rs 50 crore, and that its money laundering case is based on an FIR filed by the Delhi Police.
The ED claimed its investigation revealed thatIndian PAC Consulting Pvt. Ltd.was involved in laundering proceeds of crime worth multiple crores, with the amount detected so far at about Rs 50 crore.
In a statement, the probe agency alleged that I-PAC was involved in money laundering and generating bogus receipts.
“Vipin Chandel, Director of Indian PAC Consulting Pvt. Ltd., was arrested on April 13 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with an ongoing investigation. Vipin Chandel is a founder, director and 33% shareholder of Indian PAC Consulting Pvt. Ltd.,” the ED said after the arrest.
“The ED initiated the investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Delhi Police. The investigation conducted so far has revealed multiple instances of financial irregularities and various modes of money laundering by Indian PAC Consulting Pvt. Ltd., including receipt of accounted and unaccounted funds, unsecured loans without business credentials, issuance of bogus bills and invoices, receipt of funds from third parties, and movement of cash through hawala channels, including international hawala,” the agency said in a statement on August 14.
The ED is also separately investigating I-PAC in a money laundering case involving an alleged coal pilferage scam. This case stems from a CBI FIR filed in November 2020.
On January 8, the ED carried out raids at multiple locations in Kolkata and other parts of the country in connection with the coal pilferage case. During searches at Rishi Raj Singh’s premises, a political showdown ensued, with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee arriving at his residence. She accused the ED of stealing confidential voters’ data, while the agency claimed its raids were disrupted.
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
