The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which recovered huge cash and valuables from the residence of Arpita Mukherjee, close aide of West Bengal Commerce & Industries Minister, Partha Chatterjee, had to take the help of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) regional office in Kolkata to ferry the cash and valuables to the agency’s office at CGO complex at Salt Lake in Kolkata.
Late on Saturday evening, after ED officials finished the counting and evaluating the estimated value of the cash and valuables, a truck from RBI’s regional office in Kolkata arrived at the posh Diamond City complex at Tollygunge in South Kolkata, which housed the flat of Mukherjee.
ED officials confirmed that the truck was carrying 20 steel trunks meant for carrying the valuables seized from Mukherjee’s residence. Later, 15 trunks that were loaded with the cash and valuables and the remaining five empty trunks were brought to the ED office at CGO complex.
The ED recovered Rs 21.20 crore cash in Indian currency of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 denominations, gold ornaments of estimated market value of around Rs 90 lakhs, foreign currency of value of around Rs 60 lakhs, 20 high-end Apple iPhones, sale deeds of eight other flats and papers of multiple costly vehicles.
Mukherjee, who is currently in the ED custody will be presented at a special court of Public Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Monday.