New Delhi:
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted searches at four cities in Gujarat and Maharashtra in Rs 2800 crore money laundering probe linking Paplaj Foreign Trade LLP, the agency said on Monday.
ED’s Surat based unit conducted these search operations under the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999 at the premises of Paplaj Foreign Trade LLP, its partners Somabhai Sunderbhai Meena and Ojaskumar Mohanlal Naik and its associates at various locations in Surat, Vadodara, Mumbai and Pune.
During the search operations, various incriminating documents and electronic devices were recovered and seized, said the federal agency.
ED initiated investigations on the basis of information that Paplaj Foreign Trade LLP has made large scale suspicious outward remittances on account of overvaluation of import and export of diamonds.
The investigation revealed that Paplaj Foreign Trade LLP had done overvaluation of import of diamonds and has remitted an amount of Rs 2,800 crore between July, 2023 and March, 2024.
ED investigation further revealed that Paplaj Foreign Trade LLP had received amounts of Rs 2800 crore from various non – existent entities based in Surat, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune and remitted the same to eight entities based in Hong Kong.
During the search, ED said, it was being revealed that the entities which transferred amounts of Rs 2,800 crore approximately to Paplaj Foreign Trade LLP were shell entities and had provided accommodation entries through web of complex transactions in the garb of sale – purchase of diamonds.
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