By Divyesh Singh: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 4.09 crore belonging to Deepak Kumar, director of Naina Jewellers and Yogeshwar Diamonds, his relatives, and his associate in a money laundering case. The attached properties include immovable property and a bank balance of one proprietorship concern, M/s Naina Jewellers of Deepak Kumar.
Deepak Kumar was arrested by the ED on February 25 on his return from Dubai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He had not been responding to the ED’s summons for the last few years.
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WHAT IS THE CASE?
The investigation was initiated by the ED against M/s Yogeshwar Diamonds and others based on an FIR registered by the Maharashtra Police in 2015, which was later transferred to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in Mumbai. The ED’s investigation revealed that M/s Yogeshwar Diamonds and others remitted funds on the basis of forged bill of entries to companies based in Hong Kong SAR, China. One such shell foreign entity, M/s Star Grace Limited, had received a huge amount of illegal proceeds of crime through this modus operandi.
According to the documents collected by the ED, Deepak Kumar was the director of M/s Star Grace Limited. After he did not respond to the ED’s summons for the last few years, the probe agency arrested him on February 25. He is currently in judicial custody.
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The scrutiny of his and his firm’s bank accounts in India revealed that he is part of a larger web of shell entities that are engaged in sending large amounts of unaccounted funds to foreign shell entities in the guise of forged/fabricated bills of entry in the diamond trading business.
Deepak Kumar was the authorised Director of the Hong Kong Company, but he is not the ultimate beneficial owner of M/s Star Grace Limited Hong Kong SAR. As per the investigation done till date, it has been 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.
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The ED did a fund trail investigation and found that dummy proprietors, directors, and partners were appointed to these shell companies, and they helped in laundering operations on commission.
The ED has 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.
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Published On:
Apr 29, 2023
