ED close to unearthing Rose Valley's turnover after Gautam Kundu's arrest

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is all set to get the figure of the total turnover that the Rose Valley Group has achieved in the period after the arrest of its chief Gautam Kundu. The central investigating agency needs the figure to ascertain the involvement of his estranged wife, Subhra Kundu, with the hawala racket.

According to the sources in the ED, several businesses of the Rose Valley group were continuing even after the arrest of its chief. It is learnt that despite filing for divorce, Kundu's wife had continued to hold crucial positions in certain sections of the group and it includes the jewellery section of the group's business.

Thus, the investigating officers are considering that a large part of the same money that was generated from Rose Valley group's business, after its chief was arrested, was sent outside the country through hawala channel. Though the folder named "Madam Rose Valley" in a computer in the firm of the chartered accountant firm on Mangoe Lane brought to light the transactions of Rs 15 crore allegedly by Subhra since August 2016.

Police suspect that assistant director of the ED, Manoj Kumar had introduced Subhra to the broker on Mangoe Lane, who had allegedly helped her to send money through hawala channel. Kundu was arrested on March 26, 2015. Police, thus, suspect that there could be some other firms like the Mangoe Lane one through which similar transactions of money of the group took place. Investigating agencies came to know about the firm on Mangoe Lane in central Kolkata after the Kolkata Police arrested three employees of the firm carrying demonetised notes worth Rs 1.42 crore on December 16.

The top ED officers have come to know that the hotel of the Rose Valley Group in Mandarmani is operational and the jewellery business of thegroup is doing good business as well. The question has been raised by the top officers about why these properties of the group were not yetattached, sources said.

Thus, the officers of the ED, who are also probing into the role of Kumar and his connection with Subhra, have decided to get details of the

transactions made by the estranged wife of Kundu. Accordingly, the concerned officers have initiated gathering required information first to calculate the total income of the group after the arrest of Kundu and the same will get tallied with that of the group's expenditure and other investments for the same period, sources said.

Subhra would be questioned once again by the ED once they complete their calculations on the group's transactions in the period after Kundu'sarrest. If needed, Kumar would also be questioned again, it is learnt.