MUMBAI, Jan. 13 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested an imposter for allegedly attempting to manipulate and stall the auction of assets seized in the money laundering probe into an alleged Rs.5,978-crore fraud. According to ED officials, Kalyan Banerjee, who was arrested in Secunderabad, Hyderabad, has been accused of falsely claiming to be close to senior bureaucrats and politicians. As part of its probe into the fraud case, the ED had in August 2019 attached assets worth Rs.299.99 crore belonging to businesswoman Nowhera Shaik and other accused from several states. The ED's money-laundering investigation came after several cases were registered against Shaik and others alleging that they had illegally collected money from thousands of investors by promising them high returns of 36% per year. However, the accused had failed to deliver on their promise and had duped the investors by failing to return the principal amount . So far, the ED has attached assets, including immovable and movable, worth around Rs.428 crore in the case and submitted two chargesheets in the Hyderabad court. According to ED officials, after Shaik allegedly failed to legally protect what she had acquired through the fraud, she allegedly hired Banerjee to tamper with the investigation. ED officials said that Banerjee had texted and called ED officials while falsely claiming to be close to high-ranking bureaucrats and politicians. Banerjee even attempted to bribe ED officials to manipulate the auction process of the seized assets. When rebuffed by the ED officers who asked him to follow the due process of law, Banerjee allegedly threatened them to stall the auction process. ED officials then began investigating Banerjee's background and found that he was an imposter. His mobile phone revealed incriminating Whatsapp chats allegedly with Shaik and her associates, ED officials added. "In statements recorded by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, Banerjee allegedly admitted to impersonation and said he was acting on the directions of Shaik," an ED official said....