Imphal: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Wednesday carried out searches at multiple locations in Manipur in connection with a money laundering investigation into the alleged collection of over Rs 50 crore from the public through fraudulent investment schemes, officials said.
At least five premises in the state capital Imphal were searched.
The locations are linked to Yambem Biren, who styles himself as the chief minister of the so-called Manipur State Council, and Narengbam Samarjit, who claims to be its external affairs and defence minister.
According to the ED, Biren and Samarjit are key figures associated with the Salai Group of Companies.
The probe stems from a case initially registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Investigators have linked the case to a press conference held in London in 2019, during which Biren and Samarjit allegedly declared Manipur’s independence from the Union of India.
The agency said the act amounted to waging war against the state, sedition, and promoting disharmony and hatred among different groups.
The ED further alleged that the accused had floated a body called the Kadangband Swajaldhara Implementation Committee in May 2003, which was later renamed Smart Society in August 2008.
Subsequently, they set up Salai Financial Service (SAFFINS), with its registered office at Sagolband Tera Loukrakpam Leikai in Imphal.
According to the agency, the accused and their associated entities fraudulently mobilised funds from the public by promising exorbitant returns.
Smart Society allegedly operated illegally as a non-banking financial company by collecting cash deposits from members under the guise of membership fees and paying interest only in cash.
The ED claimed that Rs 57.36 crore was collected from investors under various schemes and routed into the personal bank accounts of the Salai Group of Companies, Smart Society and their directors.
These funds, described as proceeds of crime, were allegedly used for activities amounting to waging war against the Government of India, sedition, and promoting enmity and disharmony, the agency said.
