The involvement of Sujay Krishna Bhadra and four companies linked to him in the alleged multi-crore school recruitment scam in West Bengal is a classic case of money laundering, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed a special PMLA court here on Wednesday.
Alleging the involvement of Bhadra in hawala transactions, ED counsel Phiroze Edulji said that as many as 100 banks accounts connecetd to the four companies linked to Bhadra have been traced by the investigating officers, through which transactions worth over Rs 11 crore were made.
“All the money came through the hawala route and part of the proceeds was invested in real estate business. This is a classic case of money laundering,” Edulji informed the court.
On the other hand, Bhadra’s counsel argued that the ED does not have any concrete evidence of his client’s involvement in the transactions relating to the school recruitment case.
He also pleaded for bail for his client considering his age and health condition.
However, opposing the bail plea, Edulji said that several plots were purchased using the amounts entering these bank accounts through the hawala route.
“The accused claims that the investigating officers have not been able to recover any cash. But that is not always necessary. The ED has been able to identify the money trail in this case,” Edulji argued.
After hearing both sides, the court rejected Bhadra’s bail plea and remanded him to 14-day judicial custody. The court also allowed the ED to further interrogate Bhadra in prison if necessary.
The court directed the prison authorities to reveal the CCTV footages within the jail premises, so that the court can have a clear idea of the visitors coming to meet Bhadra.
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