Saturday, July 4

Shell firm angle under scanner of SIT probing DA case against ex-Trinamool Councilor Debraj Chakraborty

Kolkata, July 4 (IANS) The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case of Disproportionate Assets (DA) against former and arrested Trinamool Congress Councilor, Debraj Chakraborty, is examining the angle of use of shell companies in diverting the proceeds of crime.

The proceeds of crime were collected through illegal avenues by both Chakraborty and his wife Aditi Munsi, a former Trinamool Congress legislator and an acclaimed devotional singer in her personal life.

Already, the SIT members have accessed the details of one such company christened ‘DC Global’, reportedly owned by Chakraborty, through which several crores of the proceeds of crime were diverted to some of the relatives and close associates of both the arrested former councilor and his wife.

It is learnt that in official records, Chakraborty’s father Tarun Kumar Chakraborty had been shown as the owner of the said entity.

“However, in reality the father’s name had been shown as the owner just as an eyewash and the day-to-day affairs of the entity were handled by Debraj himself through his close associates, who were his partners in crime,” said a state police officer aware of the developments.

The investigating officers of the SIT are examining the “outward” and “inward” remittances from the accounts of the said entity.

Insiders from the state police said that there were several transactions where the money which was credited to the account of DC Global on a particular date and time, was debited from that account within an hour from the time of credit.

The investigating officers are also examining the sources from where the hefty amounts were credited to the account of DC Global and the destinations where the amounts were debited from the accounts of that entity.

The SIT members, sources said, are also sharing the information procured on this count with the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which had recently started a parallel probe in the money laundering angle against Chakraborty and Aditi after filing an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in the matter.

At the same time, insiders from the state police said, as many as 30 other individuals who used to act as the next line operators for Chakraborty and were mainly handling the process of collection of the extortion money are also under the scanner of the SIT.

“Already four of them have been interrogated and the others will also be integrated by turns,” they said.

–IANS

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