ED raids in Odisha, Bengal in investment ‘fraud’ case

Bhubaneswar: The Enforcement Directorate Wednesday conducted searches in Odisha and West Bengal as part of a money laundering probe linked to an alleged investment fraud with depositors involving funds of Rs 120 crore, officials said.The probe stems from an Odisha Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) FIR.The FIR alleged a fraud operated under the name Kalpana Financial Services where common people were induced to invest money on the claim that the funds would be deployed in share-market/trading activities and would yield fixed monthly returns ranging from 3.5-7 per cent, according to the ED.The promoters of the scheme collected about Rs 120 crore from the public, it said.A total of ten premises in Odisha and West Bengal, including that of Kalpana Financial and its director Amit Mandal, were covered as part of the raids being conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the officials said.