ED Attaches Rs 159 Cr in Bengal Coal Scam, Total Seizures Near Rs 500 Cr

Days ahead of West Bengal going to the polls, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 159 crore in an alleged money laundering case linked to coal pilferage in Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) in Asansol.With this, the total attachment stands at Rs 482 crore. The ED said the proceeds of crime in the West Bengal “coal scam” are estimated at Rs 2,742 crore.In its provisional attachment order, the ED stated that prime accused Anup Majee, alias Lala, along with other accused and associates, under the “patronage of co-accused”, including ECL officials and “influential persons”, had established a syndicate to run an illegal coal business since 2015.“He, with the assistance of co-accused associates, was

engaged in illegal excavation of coal from ECL leasehold areas and private land, as well as pilferage of coal from ECL dumps and railway sidings, followed by its storage, transportation and sale for generation of proceeds of crime,” officials said.

The ED also said that 16 FIRs were registered against Anup Majee between 2000 and 2015 on allegations of illegal excavation and coal pilferage. He was chargesheeted. However, no case was filed thereafter, even as the illegal activities allegedly continued unabated.“The protection and patronage of influential people and officials were the primary reasons for the flourishing of Lala’s illegal coal business since 2015,” the ED claimed.The agency further said that a syndicate operated by Majee was running the coal pilferage racket.“The illegally excavated coal was distributed to various factories in West Bengal with the active assistance of the local administration. Investigation has further revealed that Anup Majee, alias Lala, introduced an illegal transport challan or pad, commonly known as the ‘Lala pad’. This functioned as a tax invoice issued in the name of non-existent firms,” the ED said in a statement.

Modus Operandi

The syndicate allegedly issued fake transport challans. A Rs 10 or Rs 20 Indian Currency Note was given to transporters.“The transporter would take a photograph of the currency note alongside the number plate of the truck or dumper carrying the illegal coal and send it to the syndicate operator. The operator would then circulate the image via WhatsApp to concerned police officials and other authorities along the route, ensuring that the vehicle was not intercepted or was immediately released if stopped,” the ED said.A "PARALLEL" NIGHT PATROLLING BY MAJEE TEAM“Anup Majee, alias Lala, maintained 15–20 night patrol teams, each comprising a driver and local youths, using vehicles such as Bolero and Innova. They would check transport challans or ‘Lala pads’ of trucks carrying coal,” officials said.“In cases where trucks carried legitimate ECL coal but lacked the ‘Lala pad’, they were allegedly charged between Rs 85,000 and Rs 1,05,000 as transportation cost,” officials added.The ED claimed that local police failed to act against the malpractice and allegedly received regular monthly cash payoffs from Majee’s gang.HAWALA NETWORKThe syndicate also allegedly operated a hawala network to move cash outside formal banking channels.“In a typical transaction, the recipient would share a unique code with the sender, usually the serial number of a currency note, which functioned as the authentication key,” the ED said.The probe further revealed that illegally excavated coal was purchased by companies in the steel and iron sector. The latest attachments include assets of firms engaged in these sectors.“ED reiterates its commitment to taking stringent action against economic offenders involved in illegal mining and money laundering. Such offences harm the public at large, as natural resources are public assets held in trust for the people,” the agency said.