Kolkata, Sep 9 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Tuesday that the officials of its Kolkata office have provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 2.2 crore linked to one Sheikh Jinnar Ali, who had been accused of extorting businessmen posing as an ED official.

The confiscation was done under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and the attached properties include 10 immovable properties situated in East Bardhaman district of West Bengal owned by Jinnar Ali and bank balances, ED said.

The ED had also filed a prosecution complaint against the accused before a special PMLA court in Kolkata in the last week of August.

According to a press statement issued by ED on Tuesday, their officials initiated an investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Bidhannagar South Police Station in Kolkata against Jinnar Ali and his associates.

“The accused persons were involved in a criminal conspiracy to extort money from a businessman by disguising themselves as ED officers. The said accused persons used to contact various businessmen through phone and introduce themselves as ED officials. They also issued fake summons to the complainant to appear in front of the Police Commissionerate Office, Bidhannagar, under the pretence of an official inquiry which did not exist in reality,” the statement said.

According to it, upon meeting, Jinnar Ali and his associates enquired about the various business activities and pointed out certain complaints received against such business persons, and in that process, various discrepancies in the financial accounts would also be discussed in the meeting held near the Police Commissionerate office at Bidhannagar.

“To create an illusion of legitimacy, the accused individuals arrived in a Toyota Fortuner, which displayed an ED insignia. They claimed that actions from both the ED and the CBI were imminent unless the complainant agreed to meet their demands. Under continued threats of office raids, property seizure, and arrest, the complainant was coerced to pay a total of Rs 1.30 crore in cash and Rs 20 lakh in the bank account provided by the accused person,” the statement added.

Finally, Jinnar Ali was arrested in July 2025 by the ED and presently he continues to be in judicial custody.

–IANS

src/khz