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Manipur: ED raids premises linked to leaders of self-styled state council
Manipur: ED raids premises linked to leaders of self-styled state council
New Delhi/Imphal, The Directorate of Enforcement on Wednesday conducted searches in Manipur as part of a money laundering investigation against some persons who are accused of collecting more than ₹50 crore worth funds from the public in the name of an investment scheme and using them for waging war against the government of India, officials said.
At least five premises in state capital Imphal were raided, and these are linked to Yambem Biren, self-styled chief minister of the Manipur state council, and Narengbam Samarjit, self-styled external affairs and defence minister of the Manipur state council.
The accused are the "key persons" of the Salai Group of companies, ED officials said.
The case relates to a press conference held in London in 2019 by Biren and Samarjit, where they "declared the independence of Manipur from the Union of India."
This was a prejudicial act amounting to waging war against the state, sedition, and promoting disharmony, enmity and feelings of hatred among different groups, as per the ED.
These two were first booked by the National Investigation Agency and the CBI.
The accused are also accused of establishing a "Kadangband Swajaldhara Implementation Committee" in May 2003, whose name was changed to Smart Society in August 2008, as per the agency.
The accused went on to establish a society named Salai Financial Service and had its registered office at Sagolband Tera Loukrakpam Leikai in Imphal.
The accused, along with the entities of the Salai Group of companies, fraudulently collected cash from the public by promising exorbitant rates of interest, the ED found.
"Smart Society functioned illegally as a non-banking financial company by accepting deposits in cash from the general public under the guise of membership fee and disbursed interest only in cash."
"They collected ₹57.36 crore from gullible investors under different schemes and deposited these funds into the personal bank accounts of the Salai Group of Companies, Smart Society and their directors," the ED said.
These funds are the proceeds of crime and were used for waging war against the government of India, sedition, and promoting disharmony, enmity and feelings of hatred among different groups, the agency alleged.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
