ED raids uncover ₹600 crore assets in Jharkhand illegal coal mining crackdown

The Enforcement Directorate has carried out one of its largest crackdowns on illegal coal mining in Jharkhand's Dhanbad, in which it uncovered more than ₹600 crore worth of assets, ₹160 crore in mutual fund investments and roughly ₹1.02 crore in unaccounted cash. The raids were conducted by the ED's Ranchi Zonal Office across 25 locations in Jharkhand, including Saraydhela, Katras, Jharia and Bank More areas in Dhanbad.

The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches starting from Monday, and they have now concluded, according to sources familiar with the matter. According to reports, investigators have searched prominent BCCL outsourcing contractor Lal Babu Singh and Anil Goyal. Anoop Chauhan, along with other prominent businessmen, political figures, and financial professionals. This includes Coal Traders syndicate Chauhan brothers Harendra Chauhan, Anoop (Anuj) Chauhan and Arun Chauhan; Yadav Brothers Ganesh Yadav, Shekhar Yadav, Rohit Yadav, a former assembly election candidate, Rajesh Yadav, and Guddu Yadav; Mandal brothers Pappu Mandal and his associates, other businessmen like Imtiyaz Ali, Mahendra Prasad Singh and their financial facilitator like Ritesh Sharma and DN Sinha.

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Investigators recovered documents relating to nearly 200 properties, including plots, commercial complexes and mining shares, with a value ranging between ₹500-₹600 crores. According to reports, investigators recovered several digital devices and multiple bank accounts relating to the proceeds from illegal coal mining, extortion, levy collection and an illegal money laundering network.

Investigators doubt and are trying to uncover if the proceeds from the laundering operations were systematically moved across state borders and invested in businesses and properties to disguise their origins. The electronic devices and documents seized by the ED could possibly establish the flow of funds and identify other entities and individuals involved in the money laundering operations. This probe is not an isolated investigation but part of a broader investigation into the coal mafia and a smuggling ring, spanning across Purulia, Durgapur, Howrah and Kolkata in West Bengal.