Kolkata, Nov 15 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday seized around Rs 3 crore from a businessman's house in south Kolkata’s Lake Market area apart from two other places as part of its ongoing probe into a high-profile lottery scam, an officer said.
The central agency conducted search operations at multiple locations in West Bengal since Thursday in connection with the alleged scam.
According to a senior ED officer, the raids uncovered approximately Rs 3 crore in cash, although the counting process was still ongoing.
A note-counting machine was brought to the businessman’s residence on Kavi Bharati Sarani in the southern part of the city to facilitate the tallying of the seized money.
The agency had also brought similar equipment to another location in Madhyamgram, in North 24 Parganas district, where search operations have been underway since Thursday.
In Madhyamgram, the ED's search focused on a building in Michael Nagar, which was reportedly being used as both an office and a godown for the alleged lottery operation.
The officer said while several important documents had been seized, they were still investigating the financial aspect and could not yet confirm the amount of money seized from that location.
"The search is on. We have seized several documents, but cannot talk about the money part at the moment," an ED official said.
The ED investigation into the lottery scam is part of a broader money laundering probe, with officials suggesting that the scam may involve several influential people.
The lottery tickets, it appears, were being printed and distributed from the same building in Madhyamgram, the official added.
The ED's action comes after the agency launched nationwide search operations in multiple states, including West Bengal, Sikkim, and Tamil Nadu.
In Tamil Nadu, the ED had previously attached assets worth over Rs 277 crore as part of the investigation into the same scam.