ED attaches ₹18.5 crore assets of former South Point trustee in alleged fund siphoning case

PTI, April 11, 2026, Kolkata : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has made a provisional attachment of properties of former trustee of the South Point Education Society (SPES), Krishna Damani, worth about ₹18.50 crore in the form of mutual funds and shares, in connection with the alleged siphoning off of funds under the guise of providing manpower and other services.

According to sources, Damani was previously arrested in February 2024 by the Kolkata Police in connection with a case of alleged siphoning off money amounting to ₹10 crore from the school fund. After about three months of his arrest, Damani was granted bail under certain conditions.

Meanwhile, the ED had taken over the investigation and filed a prosecution complaint against Damani for alleged money laundering using his position at the SPES.

The ED said in a statement in February this year that the investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by Kolkata Police for siphoning off funds of SPES.

During the probe, it was revealed that under the guise of availing manpower and other services, Damani allegedly diverted funds to the tune of more than ₹20 crore to entities owned and controlled by him and his family members.

The investigation further revealed that Damani had allegedly orchestrated the layering and integration of the proceeds of crime by distributing the diverted funds from charitable trusts to his family members and controlled entities in the form of inflated salaries, directors’ remuneration and commissions.

It was also alleged that the funds were subsequently invested in mutual funds and other financial instruments in his name, in the names of his family members, and through companies controlled by him.