Lucknow, Jul 16 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted searches at multiple locations in four states, including in the border areas of West Bengal, in a money laundering probe linked to illegal infiltration of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas into India, officials said.

They said the central agency is specifically looking into the activities of a syndicate that operates through public charitable trusts registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and that these trusts received funds from certain UK-based entities.

They said about 13 premises in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur (Deoband), Jamia Nagar in Delhi, Ballabhgarh (Faridabad district) in Haryana and South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas and Murshidabad in West Bengal were raided under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the Lucknow zonal office of the agency.

The 2024 ED case stems from an Uttar Pradesh ATS (Anti-Terrorist Squad) FIR related to an organised syndicate allegedly involved in facilitating illegal infiltration of Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals into India, arranging forged Indian identity documents like Aadhaar, PAN and passports apart from aiding their rehabilitation in various parts of the country.

The ATS probe found a "deep-rooted" financial network involving certain charitable trusts and entities allegedly receiving substantial foreign contributions and diverting the same through multiple bank accounts, mule accounts and layered transactions to facilitate illegal activities, the officials said.

The ED suspects that funds were transferred to suspected individuals in small tranches of Rs 6,000, Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000 to help them settle in India.

The ultimate utilisation of the laundered funds was directed toward the economic rehabilitation of illegal immigrants to anchor them permanently within India, the officials claimed.

In some of the border districts of West Bengal, the ED suspects, a group was helping to infiltrate illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi into India.

Another group was responsible for preparing all the documents for these illegal infiltrators, and then they were sent to other parts of India in search of livelihood or for other purposes, they said.

To generate permanent income for these infiltrators, this trust provided money or alternative arrangements, such as an e-rickshaw, jobs, or cash benefits, the officials said. PTI NES DV DV