ED attaches assets worth Rs 7.63 crore of Madanlal Jain in bogus import case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached immovable and movable assets worth Rs 7.63 crore of Mumbai-based businessman Madanlal Jain in a bogus import case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). According to ED, the attached properties comprise of immovable properties namely 15 plots worth Rs 4.80 crore located at Gam-Katargam in Surat held in the name of Rivertouch Resorts Pvt Ltd, a company controlled by accused Madanlal Jain, and movable property in the form of balance in bank accounts totalling Rs 2.83 crore.

The economic offences watchdog said that the investigation in the matter has revealed that nine compes having accounts in ICICI Bank, Surat, have remitted a huge amount of money on the basis of forged Bills of Entry to three compes in UAE and 15 compes in Hong Kong.A Bill of Entry is an account of goods entered at a customhouse, of imports and exports, detailing the merchant, quantity of goods, their type, and place of origin or destination. It said that the main sources of credits in these accounts are from the eight entities -- Vandana & Co, Natural Trading Co, Maruti Trading, etc -- having accounts in Axis bank apart from around 469 other entities.

Further, the ED said that these eight entities having accounts in Axis Bank had received funds through various cheque discounters and a web of 2,700 compes. Enquiries further revealed that Afroz Mohamed Hasanfatta, Madanlal Jain, Bilal Haroon Gil, Jayesh Desai, Rakesh Kothari were involved in this racket and that these accused persons created shell compes using dummy persons as directors or partners, the ED said.

Madanlal Jain had allegedly earned commission for his role in the illegal transactions of foreign remittances made on the strength of fake Bills of Entry and is allegedly the beneficiary of the proceeds of crime laundered and transferred from Indian compes.Earlier, the ED had arrested Afroz Mohamed Hasanfatta, Madanlal Jain, Msh Shah, Rakesh Kothari and Jayesh Desai and attached their properties totalling to Rs 26.55 crore and also filed five prosecution complaints against them before designated Special Court (PMLA) in Ahmedabad. The investigation in the matter was initiated on the basis of a complaint received by the Crime Branch of Surat from ICICI bank against RA Distributors Pvt Ltd and others alleging that the compes had prepared fake Bills of Entry and presented the same before ICICI Bank for illegal outward remittances.

( With inputs from ANI )