Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated action against two other corporate entities linked to the suspended Trinamul Congress leader, Sheikh Shahjahan in a money-laundering case.

Sources said that these two corporate entities are Mesars Magnum and Mesars Arup Som. How much money were they giving to whom? The investigators got the answer after questioning. ED officials, sources added, have identified the bank accounts linked to these two corporate entities and have directed the bank authorities concerned to immediately stop the facilities of all inward and outward transactions in those accounts. So with these two a total of three corporate entities linked to Shahjahan, also the accused mastermind behind the attack of ED and CAPF personnel at Sandeshkhali on 5 January, have come under the scanner of the central agency.

Earlier, the ED sleuths directed the bank authorities concerned to immediately freeze the bank account linked to the fish exports entity Mesars Sheikh Sabina Fish Supply Only, which is registered in the name of Shahjahan’s daughter Sheikh Sabina. The central agency sleuths have also initiated the freezing of the personal bank account of Sheikh Shahjahan. These actions by ED, sources added, have been initiated following definite clues that these accounts were used as shell companies meant for diverting ill-gotten proceeds in different money laundering cases, especially the ration distribution case.

In fact, in all the money laundering cases being investigated by the ED in West Bengal, it has been noticed that such shell companies played a very important role in the fund diversion process. The ED has filed two separate enforcement case information reports (ECIR) against Shahjahan. The first ECIR is related to his involvement in the ration distribution and the second is related to using his fish exports business for money laundering.

Meanwhile, ED officials started investigating the account book of the Shahjahan to establish his links with several businessmen, who could help him in money laundering cases. ED sources said that they got a lot of information from the account book of Sheikh Sahhjahan. According to ED sources, all the corruption allegations against Shahjahan are not accounted for in the bank records.

Allegedly, Shahjahan used to take over the land of the villagers and sell it to launder the money through the shrimp trade. As a result, there was no account of ‘black’ money in any official document. However, the central agency claims that the transaction account of Rs 137 crore has been found in the bank account of Sabina Enterprises, a company named after Shahjahan’s daughter.