THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday identified the Shakambhari Group, an unlisted industrial group based in West Bengal, as a major end-user of illegally mined coal while investigating a multi-crore smuggling syndicate linked to Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) areas. After searches in West Bengal and Delhi, the ED said a “large part” of the coal illegally extracted from ECL leasehold areas was sold to manufacturing units operated by the Shakambhari Group.

 

The agency said the stolen coal was supplied to factories located in districts such as Bankura, Purulia and Bardhaman. The probe stems from an FIR registered by the CBI in 2020 against alleged coal smuggling kingpin Anup Majee and others. According to the ED, the investigation has uncovered a layered money-laundering mechanism in which hawala operators were used to route proceeds of crime.