In a forex violation probe, the ED finds millions of dollars stuffed inside a washing machine
Tuesday saw the Enforcement Directorate recover Rs 2.54 crore in “unexplained” cash, part of which was discovered hidden in a washing machine. The searches were carried out in many locations in relation to a possible case of foreign currency laws being broken.
According to an official announcement, searches were conducted at the locations of several businesses, including Capricornian Shipping and Logistics Pvt Ltd and its directors, Vijay Kumar Shukla and Sanjay Goswami, as well as affiliated companies, including Laxmiton Maritime, Hindustan International, Rajnandini Metals Limited, Stawart Alloys India Pvt Ltd, Bhagyanagar Limited, Vinayak Steels Limited, and Vashishta Constructions Pvt Ltd.
The dates of these searches, which were conducted at different places in Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Kurukshetra, Haryana, were not disclosed by the central agency. Furthermore, information about where the cash discovered in the washing machine was recovered was left out.
Based on “credible information,” an enforcement action was started to investigate the participation of these businesses in significant foreign exchange transactions outside of India. According to the statement, they were also suspected of sending “suspicious” foreign transfers totaling Rs 1,800 crore to two companies, Galaxy Shipping and Logistics Pte Ltd and Horizon Shipping and Logistics Pte Ltd, all of which were run by a man by the name of Anthony De Silva.
With the assistance of shell companies like Neha Metals, Amit Steel Traders, Triple M Metal and Alloys, and HMS Metals, Capricornian Shipping and Logistics Pvt Ltd, Laxmiton Maritime, and its associates made outward remittances totaling Rs 1,800 crore to the Singapore-based entities under the guise of bogus freight services, imports, layering them through a web of complex transactions. Apart from other “incriminating” papers and digital devices, the search turned up unexplained cash totaling Rs 2.54 crore, some of which was concealed in a washing machine. All of this money was confiscated.
According to the ED, 47 bank accounts in total have also been blocked.
