KOLKATA: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of personally obstructing a money laundering investigation, forcibly removing documents and electronic devices linked to the multi-crore Bengal coal smuggling case an allegation that has sent shockwaves through India’s political and legal circles.
According to a detailed statement issued by the ED and echoed by BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya, the agency was conducting evidence-based search operations at 10 locations six in West Bengal and four in Delhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the coal smuggling syndicate allegedly led by Anup Majhi. The searches, the ED maintained, were proceeding peacefully until the arrival of the Chief Minister herself, accompanied by a large contingent of state police officials and senior officers of the West Bengal administration.
The Enforcement Directorate’s statement is a damning indictment of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
According to the ED, Mamata Banerjee, accompanied by a large contingent of police officials, personally entered the residential premises of Prateek Jain and removed… https://t.co/YaqM15OVYV
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) January 8, 2026
The ED has alleged that Mamata Banerjee entered the residential premises of I-PAC head Prateek Jain and removed crucial evidence, including physical files and electronic devices. Visuals from the scene showed the Chief Minister exiting the residence holding a large green file, an image that has since become emblematic of the controversy.
The agency further claimed that the Chief Minister’s convoy then proceeded to I-PAC’s office in Salt Lake, where Banerjee, her aides and state police personnel allegedly forcibly seized documents and electronic evidence linked to an ongoing money laundering probe.
“These actions amount to direct obstruction of a lawful investigation under the PMLA,” the ED stated, adding that such intervention by a sitting Chief Minister was without precedent and raised grave concerns about abuse of executive power.
The ED insists that the searches were not targeted at any political party and had no connection to elections, but were part of a routine crackdown on money laundering arising from the Bengal coal scam case. The probe traces its origins to a CBI FIR registered on November 27, 2020, against alleged coal smuggling kingpin Anup Majhi and others, followed by the ED registering a PMLA case a day later.
ED Headquarters Unit is conducting search action at 10 premises (6 in West Bengal and 4 in Delhi) under PMLA in connection with coal smuggling syndicate led by Anup Majee used to steal and illegally excavate coal from ECL leasehold areas of West Bengal. The search action was… pic.twitter.com/ab7PCReiJo
— ED (@dir_ed) January 8, 2026
Investigators allege that Majhi ran a vast coal smuggling syndicate operating from Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) leasehold areas in Asansol, illegally excavating and selling coal across multiple districts of Bengal. According to the ED, proceeds of crime amounting to approximately Rs 10 crore were allegedly routed to the political consultancy firm I-PAC through hawala channels.
The agency claims that I-PAC was paid on behalf of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for consultancy services related to the party’s campaign during the 2022 Goa Assembly elections, thereby bringing the firm within the ambit of the money laundering investigation.
The standoff has now moved to the Calcutta High Court, with multiple petitions filed by the ED, I-PAC and the Trinamool Congress itself. The ED has accused the Chief Minister of actively obstructing an official probe, while I-PAC has sought a pause on the raids, citing proximity to upcoming elections.
The TMC, in its petition before a single-judge bench of Justice Surva Ghosh, has alleged that the ED’s actions were illegal, politically motivated and outside the scope of the PMLA. The party has claimed that the seized materials pertain solely to election strategy, internal assessments, research inputs and electoral roll-related data for the 2026 West Bengal polls, and have no connection to any alleged proceeds of crime.
The party has further accused the ED of using the probe as a pretext to access confidential political data, allegedly to disrupt a free and fair electoral process, and has sought the immediate return of all seized documents.
While the ED asserts that its actions were conducted strictly in accordance with legal safeguards and denies searching any party office, Mamata Banerjee has publicly claimed that the raids were ordered at the behest of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to “steal” TMC’s election strategy and candidate lists.
The Chief Minister staged a sit-in protest outside I-PAC’s office and the TMC has announced a massive protest march, even as the family of Prateek Jain has filed a police complaint accusing ED officials of theft an allegation the agency strongly denies.
