The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches at multiple properties linked to an alleged chit fund fraud in Nadia’s Kalinarayanpur.
The probe agency targeted the premises of absconding businessman Shubhra Kanti Nag accused of mobilising crores of rupees from investors through fraudulent investment schemes.
A five-member ED team, accompanied by personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces, carried out the operation at two residential properties and an office near Kalinarayanpur railway station allegedly owned by Nag. However, the residences were found vacant during the searches.
Local sources claimed that Nag has been absconding for nearly one-and-a-half years. Investigators suspect that he and his associates collected large sums of money from the public by luring investors with promises of high returns through stock market investments under the banner of Profit Axis and several other entities.
The company subsequently came under the scanner over allegations of financial irregularities. Its office had earlier been sealed by the authorities following complaints of fraud.
During Thursday’s operation, ED officials searched the vacant premises for documents, digital records and other material that could assist in tracing the financial transactions and identifying the flow of funds allegedly involved in the scam.
Sources indicated that the searches are part of the agency’s ongoing investigation into suspected money laundering linked to the alleged investment fraud.
The latest action comes days after the ED carried out another search in Nadia in which it searched the residence of a betel nut trader in Nabadwip. That operation, which lasted from morning until late at night, reportedly led to the recovery of jewellery and cash, sources claimed.