In New Delhi, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) took major action in a money laundering case involving the political consultancy firm I-PAC by arresting the company’s Director and Founder, Vinesh Chandel, around 7:45 PM on Monday. This arrest was made under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED initiated the investigation into this case based on an FIR registered by the Delhi Police, which levels serious allegations of fraud, criminal conspiracy, falsification of accounts, and accounting irregularities against the company.
According to the ED, through I-PAC directors Vinesh Chandel, Rishi Raj Singh, and others, work was being done in a planned manner to generate, conceal, and then project illegally earned money (proceeds of crime) as coming from legitimate sources. The agency states that
A complex network of financial transactions was created for this purpose, aimed at turning black money into white.
The investigation also revealed that Vinesh Chandel, the company’s founder, played a central role in all key decisions and had full control over the company’s financial and operational matters. The ED alleges that he was actively involved in this entire process, and his direct role was found in routing illegal money through the system.
The ED investigation has revealed that entries like “50% cheque” were recorded in transactions, indicating that half of the payment was taken through banking channels while the remaining amount was taken in cash to keep it out of official records. The agency claims that funds received from political parties could also be involved in this process.
The ED also alleges that I-PAC prepared several fake and bogus invoices, which were used to legitimize money received from various companies. However, the investigation also revealed that in many cases, no services or consultancy were actually provided.
Through these alleged fake transactions, attempts were made to hide the identity of the illegal money by rotating it through multiple layers and later showing it in the financial system as legitimate income.
