Gold smuggling scam: ED raids 5 locations in Hyderabad, arrests Preet Kumar Agarwal
The sleuths of the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids in five locations in Hyderabad on 11 March and arrested one person, Preet Kumar Agarwal, in a gold smuggling scam.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 11 March 2021 12:13 PM GMT
Hyderabad: The sleuths of the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids in five locations in Hyderabad on 11 March and arrested one person, Preet Kumar Agarwal, in a gold smuggling scam. The searches were done under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002.
The ED started investigations following a complaint filed in Kolkata. The sleuths of the Directorate of Intelligence (DRI), Kolkata, had busted a scam involving diversion of gold jewellery in the domestic area which was meant for export.
The gold was procured duty-free by the accused persons from nominated agencies like MMTC, State Trading Corporation of India Ltd, and Diamond India Ltd. and was being sold illegally to various persons in the domestic territory to evade Customs duty as well as to generate and launder money.
The investigations conducted by the DRI revealed that gold weighing 250 kgs (approximately) had been diverted/smuggled by the accused in the domestic area. The DRI had filed a criminal complaint under Sections 132 and 135 of the Customs Act 1962.
During the searches, the ED recovered and seized incriminating documents, valuables, and records that indicate large-scale hawala transactions being carried out by accused persons. It was also found that the accused persons had acquired assets in the name of other persons.
