Charges framed against Chandraswami

A Delhi court on Saturday framed charges against Chandraswami in three cases of FERA violations.

A Delhi court on Saturday framed charges against the controversial godman Chandraswami in three cases of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) violations.

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Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kamini Lau framed charges against Chandraswami alias Nemi Chand Jain for allegedly acquiring foreign currency from three different persons in violation of section 8 (1) of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act and not surrendering the said foreign exchange to the Government in violation of sections 56 of the Act.

According to complaints by the Enforcement Directorate, Chandraswami acquired 1,50,000 US dollars from one GT Soerdjbalie on March 13, 1980 and 50,000 US dollars from Baidjnath Missier on March 14, 1980 at Rotterdam without any general and special permission of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and failed to surrender the foreign exchange to the Government for sale to an authorized dealer in India.

He is also charged with receiving 2,00,000 US dollars from Jagdev Mishra and Jagdish Prasad in March 1980 without the general and special permission of the Reserve Bank of India. He then transferred the money to Magi International of the controversial socialite Bina Ramani not being an authorized dealer of foreign exchange, as per the complaint.

Chandraswami allegedly invested 78,000 US dollars of the money in a building in New York in April, 1980 and withdrew the investment in October that year and arranged it to be set-off against another property in Canada without the permission of the RBI.

He also allegedly transferred 1,22,000 US dollars of the foreign exchange received from Jagdev Mishra and Jagdeep Prashad, to a person not being an authorized dealer through his nominee Bina Ramani.