ED conducts searches in ₹10,000 cr illegal foreign remittances case

ED seized assets worth ₹1 crore in Mumbai and Thane linked to a money-laundering case involving illegal foreign remittances over ₹10,000 crore.

MUMBAI: The Mumbai unit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches in Mumbai and Thane and seized movable assets worth ₹1 crore as part of its money-laundering investigation against a racket that is accused of orchestrating foreign remittances worth over ₹10,000 crore, in an illegal manner.

ED conducts searches in ₹10,000 cr illegal foreign remittances case

The network of accused persons and 100 odd entities controlled by it, including shell firms and private limited firms, had allegedly sent remittances to entities in Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, according to ED sources. The funds were allegedly sent abroad illegally camouflaged as payments towards freight charges and such transactions involved a web of bank accounts opened in the name of shell entities, ED sources said.

ED’s probe has revealed the role of several chartered accountants, who are accused of aiding the accused in the case in incorporation of companies and with the regulatory compliances, including those related to filings at the Registrar of Companies, among others, the sources said.

The ED carried out searches recently at 11 locations in Mumbai, Thane and Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. During the search operations, movable assets in the form of cash and jewellery worth ₹1 crore were seized by the agency. The agency also recovered and seized purported incriminating documents related to immovable property transactions and digital devices.

The ED initiated its investigation based on a case registered by the Thane police against the accused persons, including a certain Jitendra Pandey and others, who are accused of making remittances in the excess of ₹10,000 crore to entities in Hongkong, Singapore and Thailand in the guise of freight charges. Pandey and the other accused persons were earlier arrested by the Economic Offences Wing of Thane police.

ED’s probe has so far revealed that the accused persons had allegedly set up 98 dummy partnership firms, 12 private limited companies and opened 269 bank accounts in their names to execute such illicit financial transactions through them. The search operations unveiled a network of RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) entry operators who allegedly used to arrange the RTGS entries in bank account of partnership firms. This was done through layering of bank account of such shell entities to mask the funds’ origin.

Subsequently, the funds were allegedly finally placed in the bank accounts of 12 private limited companies that were purportedly in the business of freight and logistics and, thereafter, the remittances were sent abroad in the garb of freight charges.