New Delhi: The ED has arrested the proprietor of one Astral Exim & Co in connection with a trade-based money laundering case, where more than Rs 3,500 crore worth of high value foreign exchange was fraudulently remitted outwards.
The probe agency has alleged Muhammed Riyaz of Astral Exim with the other accused in the case had used around 57 shell entities with current accounts at a Syndicate Bank branch in Chennai, TN, to launder the proceeds of crime. Riyaz was produced in a Special PMLA court, which remanded him to judicial custody till July 18. The probe agency said it has also recovered several PAN cards and driving licences from his hom under assumed names.
In the course of investigation, the ED found one of the shell entities had managed to integrate a sum of Rs 14.5 crore, collected from various persons from across the country in just two months. The ED alleged the operation was organised in a way that funds received were immediately transferred to various business entities in Hong Kong through wire transfers, based on fabricated documents. Report said the accused operated an array of accounts in the assumed names at various banks like Syndicate Bank, Ratnakar Bank Limited, Karur Vysya Bank, ICICI Bank.