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BHUBANESWAR: The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches across 10 locations in Odisha and West Bengal as part of a money laundering investigation into an alleged investment fraud of about Rs 120 crore. The coordinated action covered premises linked to Kalpana Financial Services and its director, Amit Mandal. Agency officials stated that the promoters of the firm mobilized substantial funds from members of the public under the pretext of investing in the stock market and trading activities. The inquiry has been launched under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to trace the movement and end use of the collected capital.
According to investigators, the promoters lured prospective investors by assuring them guaranteed monthly returns ranging between 3.5 per cent and 7 per cent. Drawn by the promise of consistent and unusually high earnings from financial markets, a large number of citizens deposited money into the scheme. The central agency is currently examining whether any portion of the pooled funds was actually deployed in securities trading, or if the proceeds were diverted into personal holdings, unauthorized assets, and other commercial channels.
Origin of Probe in Odisha EOW Case
The federal enforcement action stems from a primary case registered by the Economic Offences Wing of the Odisha Police. The police first information report alleged that Kalpana Financial Services ran an illegitimate investment operation that persuaded ordinary citizens to place their savings into market trading ventures. The organizers allegedly induced the public by asserting that their capital would be placed in high-yielding market operations to deliver secure monthly profit payouts.
Taking cognizance of the local police complaint, the Enforcement Directorate initiated its money laundering investigation to uncover the financial mechanics behind the venture. The agency is tracking the banking channels through which investor deposits moved, identifying the individuals who received the funds, and checking whether money was channeled into personal properties. Financial documents and records recovered during the search operations are expected to help investigators establish the complete audit trail and reconstruct the chain of illicit transactions.
Coordinated Action Across Ten Locations
Search operations were conducted simultaneously on Wednesday at 10 premises located in both Odisha and West Bengal. These included the operational offices of Kalpana Financial Services as well as locations tied directly to director Amit Mandal. The enforcement teams focused primarily on securing physical ledgers, institutional paperwork, digital devices, and corporate banking files to clarify the exact volume of public funds handled by the enterprise.
Agency officials noted that the preliminary scrutiny aims to map every person involved in managing the firm, from directors to key intermediaries. The recovered transaction trails will be examined to establish whether fund transfers complied with financial regulations or served to camouflage fraudulent gains. Authorities have not yet disclosed any formal seizures of cash, physical assets, or arrests resulting from the initial day of searches, noting that the valuation and analysis of obtained material are ongoing.
Scrutiny of Guaranteed Return Claims
A central focus of the continuing investigation is the firm’s pledge of a fixed monthly return between 3.5 per cent and 7 per cent on capital investments. Financial regulators treat stock market operations as risk-bearing instruments subject to market fluctuations, making any long-term guarantee of high monthly yields a strong indicator of fraudulent mobilization. Investigators are examining the operational basis on which these returns were offered and whether early payouts to older depositors were sourced from fresh collections.
The inquiry will establish how much of the Rs 120 crore gathered was ever routed into legitimate exchanges. Federal sleuths plan to question the management and associated financial staff to identify the ultimate beneficiaries of the scheme. Further regulatory steps under the anti-money laundering statute will depend on the findings emerging from the financial evidence, bank statements, and company documents seized during the searches.
