ED freezes Urdu daily’s bank accounts holding Rs 5.25 crore after raids on TMC MP Nadimul Haque’s premises

Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said its three-day search operation at locations linked to Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Nadimul Haque has led to the seizure of incriminating documents and digital devices, and the freezing of bank accounts of the Urdu daily Akhbar-e-Mashriq holding around Rs 5.25 crore.

Haque, 56, is a director of Akhbar-e-Mashriq Private Limited, the firm that publishes the newspaper.

According to the ED, the money-laundering probe was triggered by an FIR registered by the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate against the publishing company and others. The police case alleged that the newspaper and its digital platforms were used to circulate content promoting communal disharmony, and that the company was involved in suspicious financial transactions.

The agency said its investigation uncovered that the holding company operated multiple bank accounts with Karnataka Bank, Punjab National Bank, ICICI Bank and J&K Bank, showing cumulative cash deposits exceeding Rs 60 crore. Three of the Karnataka Bank accounts, into which about Rs 5.60 crore was deposited in cash, were later closed by the company.

The ED also claimed to have found bitcoin purchase transactions linked to “tainted sources” and lacking any clear business purpose. It further alleged that the publisher was inflating the number of copies printed, misrepresenting circulation figures to secure higher advertising revenue.

The searches, conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), began on Monday, September 7, and continued till Wednesday, covering nine premises in Kolkata, Ranchi and New Delhi. These included offices and properties linked to companies associated with Haque, as well as his residence.

Officials also questioned Haque at his office after bringing him back to Kolkata from Ranchi. Sources said he was unable to produce satisfactory documents to explain the Rs 60 crore worth of transactions.

The ED said the raids yielded various incriminating papers and digital devices, including mobile phones, laptops and hard drives. In addition, bank accounts of Akhbar-e-Mashriq Private Limited with balances of about Rs 5.25 crore have been frozen.

The TMC condemned the searches as “vendetta politics” by the BJP and an attempt to divert attention from the building collapse incident in Delhi, while the party in Bengal defended the action as part of a legitimate investigation.