ED attaches assets worth ₹55.17 cr in fraud remittances case

The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached assets worth ₹55.17 crore in a money-laundering investigation related to alleged fraudulent remittance of funds to entities in Dubai and Hong Kong. The assets are held in the names of two individuals and their family members. The agency has issued nine Provisional Attachment Orders in the case, attaching properties worth ₹60 crores in total.

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth ₹55.17 crore in a money-laundering investigation related to the allegedly fraudulent remittance of funds to 18 entities located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Hong Kong by nine firms under the scanner.

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The assets of ₹55.17 crore attached on Friday are held in the names of two individuals, and their family members, whose roles are being investigated in the case allegedly involving a firm, RA Distributors Pvt Ltd, and others including diamond trader Afroz Fatta. The accused firms are based in Surat. The agency had earlier attached assets worth several crore in Mumbai as part of its probe.

ED initiated its investigation on the basis of a complaint filed by the ICICI Bank, Surat, based upon which the Surat police had filed a case. It was alleged that the firm, R A Distributors Pvt. Ltd, and eight other companies had submitted forged ‘Bills of Entry’ and remitted funds to three UAE-based and 15 Hong Kong-based entities. A ‘Bill of Entry’ refers to a legal document submitted by importers or customs clearance agents on or before the arrival of imported goods.

“ED’s investigation revealed that the proceeds of crime of ₹58.14 crore and ₹2.81 crore were received by Pankaj Kapur and Vijen Girishchandra Jhaveri in UAE and Hong Kong, respectively, out of the proceeds of crime remitted abroad from the entities controlled and managed by Madan Lal Jain and Afroz Fatta on the basis of forged Bills of Entry and documents,” an ED source said.

“10 immovable properties belonging to Kapur, Jhaveri and their family members, have been provisionally attached under section 5 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, as the same is derived by indulging in the criminal activities relating to the scheduled offence,” the source said.

The agency has so far issued nine Provisional Attachment Orders (PAO) in the case, attaching properties to the tune of ₹60 crores. The total value of the movable and immovable properties attached in the case to date is ₹115 crore.