Money ‘laundering’: ED raid Capricornian shipping, finds Rs 2.5 Cr inside washing machine

Delhi: In probably a rare case, searches conducted by the sleuths of the Enforcement Directorate led them to a washing machine where unaccounted cash worth Rs 2.5 crores was hidden.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) carried out searches under the provisions of FEMA, 1999, at the premises of Capricornian Shipping & Logistics Pvt Ltd and its directors Vijay Kumar Shukla and Sanjay Goswami and associated entities Laxmiton Maritime, Hindustan International, Rajnandini Metals Limited, Stawart Alloys India Pvt Ltd; Bhagyanagar Limited, Vinayak Steels Limited, Vashishta Constructions Pvt Ltd; and their directors/partners Sandeep Garg, Vinod Kedia and others at various locations i.e., Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kurukshetra and Kolkata.

'Foreign exchange fraud'

The ED initiated an investigation based on credible information which revealed that the said entities are involved in sending foreign exchange outside India on a large scale and made suspicious outward remittances amounting to Rs 1,800 crores to Galaxy Shipping & Logistics Pvt Ltd, Singapore and Horizon Shipping & Logistics Pte Ltd, Singapore. Both these overseas entities are managed by one Anthony De Silva.

It has been found during the search that Capricornian Shipping & Logistics Pvt Ltd, Laxmiton Maritime along with its associates made outward remittances to the tune of Rs 1,800 crores to Singapore-based entities in the garb of bogus freight services, imports and layering them through web of complex transactions with the help of shell entities like Neha Metals, Amit Steel Traders, Triple M Metal and Alloys, HMS Metals etc.

During the search, unexplained cash amounting to Rs 2.54 crores, part of which was hidden in a washing machine was found and seized. Further, various incriminating documents, and digital devices have been found and seized during the search proceedings. As many as 47 bank accounts of the entities involved have been frozen as well.