ED attaches assets of Mumbai-based diamond trader in money laundering case

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 28 : Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached movable and immovable properties of a Mumbai-based diamond trader worth Rs 4.09 crore in a money laundering case.

The attached properties include immovable property and the Bank balance of one proprietorship concern Naina Jewellers of Deepak Kumar.

ED initiated an investigation under Prevention of Money Laundering Act,. 2002 against Yogeshwar Diamonds and others on the basis of an FIR registered by the Maharashtra Police in 2015, which was later transferred to the Economic Offence Wing, Mumbai.

ED Investigation has revealed that Yogeshwar Diamonds and other remitted funds on the basis of forged bills of entries to compes based in Hong Kong SAR, China. Star Grace Limited was one such shell foreign entity which had received a huge amount of illegal proceeds of crime through this modus operandi.

Documents collected by ED proved that Deepak Kumar was the director and he was not responding to ED's summons in the last few years.

On February 25, on his return from Dubai, he was arrested by ED under PMLA 2002. Presently, he is in judicial custody. Scrutiny of his and his firm's bank accounts in India revealed that he is part of a larger web of shell entities which are engaged in sending large amounts of unaccounted funds to foreign shell entities in the guise of forged and fabricated bills of entry in the diamond trading business, said ED statement.

Deepak Kumar was the authorized Director of the Hong Kong company but is not the ultimate beneficial owner of Star Grace Limited Hong Kong SAR. As per the investigation done till date, it is established that Ramesh Kumar Kadel is the beneficiary of these funds and he is absconding from India and not responding to summons from ED and is presently in Dubai, the probing agency said.

ED has done a fund trail investigation and lifted the corporate veil and found that dummy proprietors, Directors and Partners were appointed on shell compes and they helped in laundering operations for commission.

ED identified the available assets of the main beneficiary, Deepak Kumar and other proprietors of shell entities and issued the provisional attachment order. A Prosecution complaint has also been filed at Mumbai PMLA Special Court.

Further investigation is in progress.

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