I-PAC co-founder under the scanner of ED; money-laundering allegations levelled
Telegraph | 15 April 2026
Vinesh Chandel, one of the three co-founders of I-PAC, the political consultancy working with the Trinamool Congress, has been accused of splitting alleged proceeds of crime into legal funds through banks, and unaccounted cash.
Chandel, a graduate from the National Law Institute University in Bhopal, had joined IIT graduates Pratik Jain and Rishi Raj Singh to set up the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) in March 2015.
Chandel, an active director with equal stakes among the three founders, was allegedly instrumental in the “generation, concealment and laundering of proceeds of crime”.
Who is Chandel
He graduated from NLIU Bhopal in 2012 and interned with some of India’s reputed law firms.
He practised law briefly in the Supreme Court between March 2013 and March 2014, and also had a stint in journalism during that period.
Sources familiar with Chandel said he worked as a legal consultant in a private firm between March 2013 and February 2014 before joining Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG) in March 2014. A year later, he became one of the founding members of I-PAC.
The house of another I-PAC founding member, Pratik Jain, was raided by the Enforcement Directorate in Calcutta last year. The raid had prompted chief minister Mamata Banerjee to rush to the site and allegedly snatch some of the files the ED personnel were examining.
Jain’s brother Pulkit and wife Barbie were summoned by the ED on Wednesday.
‘Proceeds of crime’
“Vinesh Kumar Chandel, being a founding director and key decision-maker, exercised control over the financial and operational affairs of the company and was actively involved in the processes leading to the generation of proceeds of crime. His company adopted a modus operandi of splitting receipts between banking channels and unaccounted cash components, including funds received from political parties,” an ED official said on Tuesday.
Sources claimed there was “documentary evidence” suggesting that only 50% of funds were recorded through formal channels, while the remaining amount was allegedly received in cash, generating unaccounted money.
“These funds were further utilised for election-related expenditure and other purposes, including influencing public perception,” the ED official added.
‘Rs 13.5-crore loan’
One of the allegations is that I-PAC allegedly added ₹13.5 crore into its books “in the guise of unsecured, interest-free loans from M/S Ramasethu Infrastructure Pvt Ltd during financial years 2019-20 and 2020-21”.
An ED official said: “The said entity is not a bank... and no loan agreement, collateral security, due diligence, or repayment terms were in place. Statements of directors and key managerial personnel confirm that such transactions lacked any commercial rationale.”
The central agency has alleged that the “transaction was a sham and a facade to introduce unaccounted funds into the company’s accounts and conceal its true source and nature”.
Invoice allegations
The ED has also alleged that the company raised “bogus invoices” to justify receipt of funds from multiple third-party entities without rendering any actual consultancy or professional services.
“These transactions were deliberately structured to provide a colour of legitimacy to otherwise illicit funds and were used for layering and integration of proceeds of crime into the formal financial system. The company acted as a conduit in routing funds,” an ED official said.
Chandel has also been accused of making false statements and “deleting emails and sensitive financial data from the accounts of key employees”.