Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Kolkata on Monday in connection with the alleged primary school jobs scam, officials said.
Banerjee arrived at the agency’s CGO Complex office around 11 am after being summoned in a money laundering investigation linked to alleged irregularities in the recruitment of primary teachers.
The ED is expected to record his statement and question him on financial documents, digital evidence and statements of other accused as part of its probe into the alleged money trail.
A senior ED official said investigators would seek to trace the movement of funds and examine whether transactions were layered to hide their origin.
"Our focus is on the money trail. Who handled funds, how they moved across accounts and entities, and whether these transactions were layered to conceal their origin," the officer said.
The official added that the agency would also seek explanations regarding discrepancies between Banerjee’s earlier submissions and fresh evidence gathered during searches.
"He also said that the agency would seek clarifications on "inconsistencies observed between earlier submissions and fresh materials recovered during searches"."
The questioning is also likely to focus on the role of intermediaries and beneficiary entities flagged during forensic analysis.
"We have obtained bank records and communication data that indicate the involvement of multiple fronts. Today's examination aims to reconcile those data points with Banerjee's version," he said.
Banerjee’s ED appearance comes a day after he was questioned by the West Bengal CID over the alleged forgery of Trinamool Congress MLAs’ signatures on documents linked to the appointment of the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly.
(With inputs from PTI)
