NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUG 6
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 7 crore of a Chennai-based bullion trader in connection with a money laundering probe linked to the Surat hawala and bogus import case.
ED attaches under PMLA, Land and Commercial building located in Chennai worth Rs. 7 Crores belonging to Anantha Padmanaban, a Bullion & Jewelry merchant in a bogus import case.
— ED (@dir_ed) August 6, 2020
A land measuring 9,600 sq feet along with a commercial building, including basement, stilt, ground and four floors totalling 20,292 sq feet situated at Thyagarayanagar in Chennai held in the name of NAC Jewellers (P) Ltd of Anantha Padmanaban has been attached, ED said on Thursday.
A provisional order for attachment of the properties has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The case is part of a Rs 5,395 crore money laundering case where hawala funds were sent as alleged illegal outward remittances on the basis of import documents or fake bills of entry through an ICICI Bank branch in Surat.
The ED filed a money laundering complaint against the accused on the basis of a 2014 Surat Police FIR into alleged bogus or fake imports case.
The ICICI bank had complained to the police against R A Distributors Pvt Ltd and others alleging that the companies had prepared fake bills of entry and presented them to it “for illegal outward remittance in the guise of import”.
The agency said its probe found that “nine companies having accounts in the ICICI Bank, Surat remitted huge amount of money on the basis of forged bills of entry to three companies in the UAE and 15 companies in Hong Kong”.
“The main sources of credits in these accounts were from eight entities -Vandana & Co, Natural Trading Co, Maruti Trading among others having accounts in Axis bank along with 469 other entities,” it said.
“These entities who have accounts in Axis Bank had received funds through various cheque discounters and a web of around 2,700 companies,” the ED alleged.
The other accused in the case include Gujarat-based operatives Afroz Mohamed Hasanfatta, Madanlal Jain, Bilal Haroon Gilani, Jayesh Desai and Rakesh Kothari, it said.
All except Gilani and Kothari were arrested by the ED in the past and their assets worth over Rs 34 crore were attached and at least five charge sheets filed against them in this case.
These accused created shell companies using dummy people as directors or partners, the ED said.
Madanlal Jain, it said, the main conspirator had earned commission for his role in the illegal transactions of foreign remittances made on the strength of fake bills of entry.
“Part of the said commission (Re 7 crore) was routed to the bank account of NAC Jewellers (P) Ltd, the company controlled by Anantha Padmanaban.
“It was also established that this transaction has been carried out by Padmanaban with full knowledge that the money so received was tainted and it was utilised in furthering the business of his bullion firm,” the ED said.
