ED seizes 91.5 kg gold, 340 kg silver from Mumbai firm
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted search operations at four premises in connection with the money laundering probe linked to Mumbai-based M/s Parekh Aluminex Limited
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized 91.5 kg gold and 340 kg silver, collectively valued at ₹47.76 crore after it concluded search operations at four premises belonging to M/s Raksha Bullion and M/s Classic Marbles, the anti-money laundering agency said on Wednesday.
The agency conducted the searches in connection with the money laundering probe linked to M/s Parekh Aluminex Limited, a Mumbai-based company engaged in manufacturing of Aluminium foil containers and storage aluminium containers.
ED registered the money laundering case against M/s Parekh Aluminex Ltd on March 8, 2018, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
“The company duped banks and took loans to the tune of ₹2,296.58 crore which money was thereafter siphoned off by layering through various companies. The money was routed to various accounts in context of providing unsecured loans and investments. The same was not the purpose of taking the loans and there were no agreements in place for such transactions,” ED said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
During the course of search, keys to private lockers were found in the premises of M/s Raksha Bullion. “On searching the private lockers, it was found that the locker operation was being done without following the proper norms. No KYC (Know Your Customer) was followed and there was no CCTV camera installed at the premises,” ED said in the statement.
“There was no ‘in and out’ Register. Searching the locker premises revealed that there were 761 lockers of which 3 belonged to M/s Raksha Bullion. On opening the lockers 91.5 kg of Gold and 152 kg of silver were found in 2 lockers and the same was seized. An additional 188 kg of silver was also seized from the premises of M/s Raksha Bullion. Total value of seized items is ₹47.76 crore,” the statement added.
ED earlier provisionally attached an amount of ₹46.97 crore on June 25, 2019 and ₹158.26 crore on September 11, 2019 in the case.