'Addresses can be bought, sold'

KOLKATA: Tucked inside `Sona patti', the gold trade hub at Burrabazar, is 4, Nalini Sett Road. Resembling a dimly lit labyrinth, the building's basement is dotted with small shops, some selling gold, some dealing in currency exchange. As one climbs up the stairs, more such tiny , coop-like structures are found on every floor, all housing small trades
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When asked for the direction to 4B, Nalini Sett Road, which apparently housed India Traders or Ganesh International, the shop owners looked puzzled. “We have never heard of the company you are asking for. A few days ago, some other men came here, looking for the same address,“ said the elderly man who runs a shop at 2, Nalini Sett Road. He was referring to the CBI and ED officers, who had visited the trade hub, looking for companies linked to Sanjay Jain, the tax consultant from central Kolkata, who was arrested by the CBI on Thursday mor ning for trying to illegally convert scrapped money and siphon it off through bogus companies. Along with Jain, Axis Bank relationships manger Amitesh Sinha and a “money carrier“, Manoj Gupta, were also arrested. It is the account at the Burrabazar branch of Axis Bank of India Traders' director--a businesswoman--that the accused trio had used to depo sit the ill-gotten money and subsequently , withdraw from there.
During interrogation, Jain told the investigators that addresses could be bought and sold in the city . “He meant, one can easily get a voter ID, Aadhar card or PAN card for any address in Kolkata,“ said an ED officer. Jain and and arrested bank official, Sinha, operated in the same way . They ope ned bank accounts with the help of fake identities and forged the signatures to deposit scrapped notes and siphon off money . “We have frozen the accounts of the three. We have also got hold of some incriminating documents from Sinha,“ said an ED official.The agencies have come across a bunch of papers on which Sinha practised the signatures before he forged them on the KYC and other bank documents.
On Friday afternoon, the dark and winding staircase leading to the terrace of 4 Nalini Sett Road led to various shops, where traders were getting their establishments ready for customers. A few curious faces looked up, offering to help the correspondent. But all came up with the same negative reply . “We have never heard of any company called India Trader or Ganesh International. You must have got the address wrong,“ said an employee at a shop on the first floor. He was right as none of the floors had any company with such a nameplate.
Post-demonetization, Rs 7 crore was deposited to the India Traders' director's account. On November 12 alone, Rs 3 crore was sent in there. But the woman, apparently the director of at least two companies, could not be found at the address the companies were registered at. In fact, none of the companies could be found at the registered address. In similar searches, the investigating agencies could not trace any of the companies, which supposedly had links with Jain, the arrested tax consultant. His consultancy office is, however, situated at 51, Nalini Sett Road.
“The agencies should first establish that the companies exist,“ said Prabhat Pal, Jain's lawyer.