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ED seizes assets worth ₹25 crore from Hero MotoCorp chairman Pawan Munjal, others
The federal agency had on Tuesday raided the businessman’s residence and offices in Delhi and Gurugram, apart from some other entities as part of a money laundering investigation
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday informed that it has seized foreign and Indian currencies, as well as gold and diamond jewellery, worth around ₹25 crore after raids on properties belonging to Hero MotoCorp executive chairperson Pawan Kant Munjal and others.
The federal agency had on Tuesday raided the businessman’s residence and offices in Delhi and Gurugram, apart from some other entities as part of a money laundering investigation.
ED issued a statement on Wednesday on the searches but did not elaborate on the exact amount of seizure made from each of those raided.
Hero MotoCorp said on Tuesday that it was extending all cooperation to the ED.
According to the ED statement, it seized “foreign and Indian currencies and gold and diamond jewellery (including foreign origin gold) worth about ₹25 crore apart from incriminating documents, hard disks and mobiles were seized from the residential and business premises of Munjal, Hemant Dahiya, KR Raman, Hero MotoCorp Limited and Hero Fincorp Limited”.
The ED case, registered under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stems from a charge sheet of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), an investigation arm of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), filed before a Delhi Court under section 135 of the Customs Act (evasion of duty or prohibitions).
The DRI prosecution complaint was filed on charges of “carrying, attempting to export and illicit export of prohibited items, i.e., foreign currency” against PK Munjal, a third-party service provider company called Salt Experience and Management Pvt. Ltd. (SEMPL), and individuals identified as Amit Bali, Hemant Dahiya, KR Raman and some others.
The ED said SEMPL “illegally exported foreign currency equivalent to about ₹54 crore to various countries during the period 2014-2015 to 2018-2019, which was ultimately used for personal expenses of PK Munjal.”
Also Read:Money laundering case: ED conducts raids against Hero Motors chairman Pawan Munjal
SEMPL, it alleged, was issued foreign exchange to the tune of about ₹14 crore in the name of its officials/employees such as Hemant Dahiya, Mudit Aggarwal, Amit Makker, Gautam Kumar, Vikram Bajaj and Ketan Kakkar, over and above the annual permissible limit of USD 250,000 in various financial years.
SEMPL also drew foreign exchange/travel forex cards in huge amounts in the name of other employees who didn’t even travel abroad, it said.
“Investigations found that one of the key associates of PK Munjal managed to illegally export approximately ₹40 crore worth of foreign currency for meeting the expenses of PK Munjal during his personal or business foreign trips,” the federal agency claimed.
