Enforcement Directorate Assigns Joint Leadership for West Bengal Money-Laundering Probes

Two Assistant Director ranked officers will jointly head the Enforcement Directorate (ED) team investigating money-laundering cases in West Bengal, with a special focus on the multi-crore cash-for-school job case. Officer R. Kumar is being transferred to the ED’s Kolkata office from Gangtok to jointly lead the team of investigators, while Mukesh Kumar has assumed the role of assistant director in the matter, replacing his predecessor Mithilesh Kumar Mishra. The Calcutta High Court ordered the replacement of Mishra, stating he should not be involved in any money-laundering probe in West Bengal.

This step aims to distribute the workload and pressure on the investigating team. Among the cases under scrutiny are those related to school job bribery, coal and cattle smuggling, and municipalities’ recruitment. To further bolster the team, the ED is working on inducting additional investigating officers into its Kolkata office. Currently, the Kolkata office handles a total of 131 money laundering cases, with six field investigation officers managing roughly 22 cases each.