Shekhar Suman’s associate faces ED action in FEMA case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) against Kalanee Impex Pvt Ltd and its director, businessman Dharmesh Sangani, over allegations of undisclosed foreign assets, foreign bank accounts and violations relating to export proceeds, officials familiar with the investigation said on Friday

Published on: Jul 11, 2026, 08:40:36 IST

By Neeraj Chauhan, New Delhi

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) against Kalanee Impex Pvt Ltd and its director, businessman Dharmesh Sangani, over allegations of undisclosed foreign assets, foreign bank accounts and violations relating to export proceeds, officials familiar with the investigation said on Friday.

Sangani is also a film producer associated with actor and television host Shekhar Suman and is the co-founder of the Shekhar Suman Film Academy. With his latest show ‘Shekhar Tonite’ on YouTube, Suman has taken satirical jabs on the government policies and functioning of bureaucracy.

ED officials said on Friday that the searches, conducted on Thursday in Mumbai, were “in connection with an investigation relating to M/s Kalanee Impex Private Limited and its director Dharmesh Narendra Sangani.”

“During the course of search proceedings, it was revealed that money which ought to have been received in India has not come to India despite lapse of substantial time. Export proceeds from certain overseas buyers had not been realised and no extension of time had been obtained from the Authorised Dealer Bank. There were no documented recovery efforts,” an ED officer said.

According to a second official, the investigation also revealed that export proceeds had been received from third-party entities other than the consignee or buyer named in the export invoices or shipping bills.

The agency also claimed to have found evidence of undisclosed foreign assets and foreign bank accounts during the searches.

“For example, substantial shareholding of Dharmesh Sangani was found in an undisclosed Canadian company. Associated foreign bank accounts and related transactions were also not disclosed before appropriate authorities. In another instance, an undisclosed UAE business entity has been identified,” the second officer said. Undisclosed bank accounts were also identified in the United States, the officials said.

According to the agency, Sangani allegedly attempted to destroy digital evidence when ED officials arrived to conduct the searches.

“On Thursday, when ED went for the raid, Sangani tried to destroy the digital evidence by throwing his mobile from the 13th floor of a building, for which a complaint was given to Mumbai Police by ED,” the first officer said.

“The mobile was later retrieved by ED officers and seized,” the officer added.

Officials said Sangani is also reportedly under investigation by the US Customs authorities in connection with certain transactions.

“Earlier in September 2016, UK Border Force officers had seized approximately 7.4 kg of gold jewellery being brought into the UK by Dharmesh Sangani since the same was under-declared. Further investigation is underway,” the second officer said.

An email query by HT to Kalanee Impex remained unanswered.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Chauhan
Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape. Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption. He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack. His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence. Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings. He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship. He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism. Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.Read More

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