Rs 38L foreign currency seized

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate seized Rs 38 lakh in foreign currency from a Delhi-based hawala operator after coordinated searches at his residential and official premises in the Capital.

Daulat Ram Soni of Delhi has been accused of being involved in hawala activities by the probe agency, which said that documents incriminating Soni were also recovered from the searches.

The ED has alleged that Soni was in touch with persons in India and abroad, for whom he facilitated hawala transactions from Dubai, Hong Kong, Turkey, United Kingdom, and other countries.

Soni, who was operating his network from his home in Shalimar Bagh, and office in Chandni Chowk, had foreign currency including Euros, GBP, New Zealand Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Malaysian Ringgit, Yuan, and Dinar. The ED has alleged that Soni had built his network by working for clients, routing their money through hawala channels, in exchange for hefty commissions.

During the searches, the agency also recovered six mobile phones belonging to Soni and his employees. The ED said that the messages in these mobile phones show incriminating communication regarding day-to-day hawala transactions.