ED links Bengal's Shakambhari Group to illegal coal supply from ECL areas

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.

In an official statement 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 allegedly used to route proceeds of crime.

One such operator is suspected to have facilitated transactions worth ''tens of crores of rupees'' to Indian PAC Consulting Private Limited (I-PAC), the agency said.

Search operations on Thursday covered six locations in West Bengal and four in Delhi, targeting premises linked to the generation, movement and laundering of proceeds from the illegal coal trade, the ED said.

The Shakambhari Group, headed by chairman and managing director Deepak Kumar Agarwal, is among the largest integrated steel manufacturers in West Bengal. The group operates multiple sponge iron, steel and power units and markets products under brands such as 'Thermocon' and 'Elegant'. None of the companies of the Shakambhari Group are listed on any stock exchange.

According to publicly available financial disclosures, the group reported a turnover of Rs 5,533.69 crore in the 2023-24 financial year, which rose by nearly 10 per cent to Rs 6,098.39 crore in 2024-25. Over the years, it has expanded by acquiring and reviving stressed industrial assets through the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), including units such as SPS Steels, Vikash Metal, Bravo Sponge Iron and Ess Dee Aluminium.

The ED alleged that illegally mined coal formed a crucial input for several of the group's sponge iron and power plants, placing its procurement practices under scrutiny.

Meanwhile, searches at the residence of I-PAC director Pratik Jain in Kolkata triggered a political row, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visiting his Loudon Street residence and the firm's Salt Lake Sector V office during the raids. Banerjee alleged the searches were politically motivated, a charge rejected by the ED, which said the visits amounted to obstruction of an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Agarwal was not reachable for comment.

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