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Non-bailable warrant issued against two in Mumbai money laundering case
Imports were showed through fake bills and crores of rupees were illegally remitted outside the country
A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai has issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against two associates of a hawala operator, Vijay Kothari, in connection with a fake importance remittance case.
The associates, Ram Vinod Somani and Shubham Tater, are suspected to be in Dubai.
A money laundering case had been registered by the enforcement directorate (ED), based on the first information report (FIR) filed by DB Marg police station in 2015 against Yogeshwar Diamonds Pvt Ltd, Shree Charbhuja Diamonds Pvt Ltd, Kanika Gems Pvt Ltd, and their respective directors Anil Kumar Mulchand Toshniwal, Sunil Kumar Chokhra and Anil Chokhra.
As per investigations, the companies conspired at the Opera House and Fort branches of IndusInd Bank, and submitted forged bills of entry, impelling the bank to remit Indian currency worth Rs304 crore abroad. The money was remitted primarily to companies based in Hong Kong and UAE.
The payments were made overseas for non-existent imports and fake bills were submitted to the banks, alleged the ED.
A bill of entry is a declaration by an importer or exporter of the nature, quantity and value of goods that have landed or have been shipped out.
Imports were showed through fake bills and crores of rupees were illegally remitted outside the country.
“The main accused, Kothari, is the hawala carrier, and he indulged in such activities under the garb of his diamond business. Somani and Tater are his associates,” the agency told the court.
The case involved international ramifications and huge amounts of money laundering, the agency added.
The agency stated that the duo has been issued repeated summons at their last known address, “but no fruitful result has come out”.
The agency has arrested Sanjay Jain, former director of Raghukul Diamonds Pvt Ltd, Saurabh Pandit, director of a Hong Kong-based company, and Anil Chokhra, former director of Kanika Gems.
Kothari, against whom a NBW warrant has been already issued, may be hiding in Dubai as well.
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