The Enforcement Directorate’s multi-city investigation into alleged money laundering has brought Trinamool Congress MP Nadimul Haque under scrutiny, with investigators examining a complex trail involving cryptocurrency, overseas financial transactions and the accounts of an Urdu newspaper.
According to sources cited in the investigation, the probe is looking into the alleged diversion of government advertising funds through overseas channels, 307 Bitcoin transfers to private or unhosted wallets, and a Rs 1.5-crore cash entry in company accounts for which investigators reportedly found no corresponding physical cash.
The investigation has also brought the financial affairs of Akhbar-E-Mashriq, a long-running Urdu daily associated with Kolkata, under the ED’s scanner.
Dubai money trail under investigation
At the centre of the probe is an alleged financial trail involving government advertising money and an overseas entity based in Dubai.
According to ED sources, investigators are examining whether funds originating from state government advertising were routed through an intermediary advertising agency and subsequently transferred to a Dubai-based entity through Islami Bank channels.
Investigators suspect that the arrangement may have been used to create layers between the original source of the funds and their eventual destination.
The alleged overseas transactions are being examined as part of the broader money laundering investigation, with the agency looking into whether legitimate-looking financial transactions were used to conceal the origin or movement of suspected proceeds of crime.
307 bitcoin transfers to private wallets
Cryptocurrency transactions form another significant part of the investigation.
According to sources, investigators have identified 307 Bitcoin transfers that were moved into private, or unhosted, cryptocurrency wallets.
Such wallets are not operated by conventional cryptocurrency exchanges or other regulated financial institutions. The ED is reportedly using digital and financial forensics to trace where the Bitcoin ultimately went and who controlled the wallets receiving the transfers.
Investigators are examining whether the cryptocurrency transactions were connected to alleged proceeds of crime and whether the movement of digital assets was intended to conceal or integrate those funds outside conventional banking channels.
The agency is also reportedly tracing the destination of the Bitcoin transfers and analysing the digital records associated with the transactions.
Rs 1.5 crore cash entry raises questions
Another issue being examined is a Rs 1.5-crore cash entry appearing in the company’s books.
According to ED sources, investigators did not find physical cash corresponding to the amount recorded in the accounts.
The agency is examining whether the accounting entry was used to create a paper trail for cash that did not actually exist at the time of the entry, or whether it could subsequently have been used to explain the arrival of unaccounted funds.
Urdu daily Akhbar-E-Mashriq under scanner
The investigation has also focused on Akhbar-E-Mashriq, a prominent Urdu-language newspaper with a long publishing history.
The newspaper primarily operates from Kolkata and has editions in other cities, including Delhi and Ranchi.
According to ED, investigators are examining the publication’s financial records, particularly its reported circulation figures and government advertising revenue.
The agency is probing allegations that circulation figures may have been artificially inflated to obtain higher government advertising revenues.
Investigators are also examining whether the newspaper’s operations were used to account for or justify financial transactions that may otherwise have raised questions.
Government advertisement funds being traced
The alleged manipulation of advertising revenue is another important aspect of the probe.
Investigators are examining the role of a state government advertising agency that transferred public advertising funds into overseas accounts through intermediary entities and Dubai-linked banking channels.
The ED is trying to establish the complete chain of transactions—from the release of government advertising funds to the intermediary agency, their alleged transfer overseas and their eventual destination.
If investigators establish that legitimate government funds were deliberately diverted or layered through multiple entities to disguise their origin, the transactions could become relevant to the money laundering investigation.
However, the allegations remain part of an ongoing investigation and would have to be established through evidence and subsequent legal proceedings.
ED examines financial irregularities
The investigation appears to cover several interconnected areas rather than a single transaction.
Investigators are reportedly examining newspaper accounts, advertising revenues, overseas bank transfers, cryptocurrency movements and cash entries together to determine whether they form part of a larger financial network.
The agency is also looking at whether transactions recorded as routine media-related expenses, vendor payments or operational costs were used to conceal the movement of funds.
Digital forensic teams are reportedly tracing the Bitcoin transactions while financial investigators are examining banking records and company ledgers.
Allegations over content and funding also under probe
According to the allegations cited by ED sources, investigators are also examining whether certain material published through the media operation could have contributed to communal disharmony and whether any such activity was financed through untraceable sources.
The agency is looking at whether any underlying scheduled offence could have generated proceeds that subsequently became subject to the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
These are allegations being examined as part of the investigation and do not, by themselves, establish criminal liability.
Why the crypto trail matters
The cryptocurrency component has added another layer to the ED’s investigation.
Unlike conventional bank transfers, Bitcoin transactions can move between privately controlled wallets without the involvement of a traditional banking intermediary. At the same time, transactions recorded on a public blockchain can potentially be traced through wallet addresses and transaction histories.
The ED’s digital forensic investigation is therefore expected to focus on identifying the owners or controllers of the wallets involved, determining the source of the Bitcoin and establishing whether the transfers were connected to the other financial transactions under investigation.
The reported identification of 307 transfers has made the cryptocurrency trail one of the key areas of scrutiny.
Probe links media operations, overseas funds and crypto
Taken together, the allegations being examined by investigators point to a possible chain connecting government advertising revenue, media-company accounts, overseas transactions and cryptocurrency.
The ED is reportedly attempting to establish whether these were independent financial activities or components of a coordinated mechanism for moving and concealing funds.
The investigation is still underway, and the allegations made by investigators have not been finally adjudicated by a court.
For now, the raid involving TMC MP Nadimul Haque has widened into a financial probe spanning government advertising funds, an established Urdu newspaper, Dubai-linked banking transactions and hundreds of cryptocurrency transfers, putting both conventional and digital financial records at the centre of the ED’s investigation.
