ED Raids Merlin Group: Money Laundering Investigation Intensifies

The Enforcement Directorate has intensified its money laundering probe by conducting fresh searches on Kolkata's Merlin Group, a real estate company already under investigation for alleged financial links to West Bengal officials.

Key Points

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted fresh searches on the Merlin Group, a Kolkata-based real estate company.
The searches are part of an ongoing money laundering investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED is investigating alleged financial links between Merlin Group and West Bengal government officials and politicians.
Merlin Group is accused of fabricating documents and grabbing land for real estate projects.
The company maintains that it is cooperating with the ED and that all transactions were transparent.

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday conducted fresh searches as part of its ongoing money laundering probe against Kolkata-based real estate company Merlin Group and some linked entities, officials said.

The action in the poll-bound state is the follow up of the raids conducted by the agency on April 8 against the Group (Merlin Projects Limited) and its promoters Sushil Mohta and Saket Mohta.

About 4-5 premises in Kolkata and North 24 Parganas district of certain entities involved in the case are being searched under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Friday, the officials said.

Merlin Group's Response To The Investigation

The Merlin Group has earlier said in a statement that it was cooperating with the ED and that all its transactions were transparent.

ED officials had said the agency is investigating alleged financial links between the company and some politicians and officials of the West Bengal government as part of this probe.

Allegations Against Merlin Group

The promoters and the company are under the ED scanner on charges of fabricating a "false" chain of title using "forged" documents, leading to land-grabbing allegations.

The agency alleged that the accused commercially "exploited" the purportedly grabbed land by launching "large-scale" real estate projects.

By projecting themselves as lawful owners using "forged" documents, the accused induced the public to invest "substantial" sums in their real estate projects, according to the agency.

Merlin Group Defends Project

The company said its project under the scanner-- Merlin Niyasa project-- was developed under a "valid" agreement, executed transparently and lawfully.

West Bengal will have two phase polls on April 23 and April 29.

Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the Enforcement Directorate can seize assets believed to be derived from illegal activities. The next stage of the investigation will likely involve scrutinising financial records and questioning individuals connected to the Merlin Group and the alleged land grabbing.

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