ED raids Goa-based Chowgule Group over FEMA violations

The ED had initiated the investigation on the basis of credible information, which revealed that Chowgule Group had created various offshore structures in which approximately $228 million were diverted from Indian companies

Panaji: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted searches at the premises of Goa-based mining and shipping company Chowgule Group in connection with an investigation relating to diverting millions of dollars from Indian companies to offshore entities.

(Representative Photo)

The searches were undertaken as per the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the federal agency said in a statement.

Agency officials said that the searches were conducted by the ED’s Goa Zonal Office at the premises of M/s Chowgule & Company Private Limited (CCPL), M/s Chowgule Steamship Limited (CSL) and PP Mahatme & Company and seven residential premises of Chowgule family members, including their CA Pradip Mahatme, ex-managing director and chief financial officer Mangesh Sawant at various locations in Goa and Mumbai.

The ED had initiated the investigation on the basis of credible information, which revealed that Chowgule Group had created various offshore structures in which approximately $228 million were diverted from Indian companies over the years by routing it through multiple foreign subsidiaries and stepping down subsidiaries based in Guernsey, UK & Marshall Islands, officials said.

Once a major mining player in Goa, among the first to mechanise operations during the Portuguese era in 1952, the group has fallen down the pecking order, ceding space to groups like Vedanta, Timblo family-owned Fomento Group and others.

The Chowgule Group has not made any official comment yet.