ED raids premises of Mumbai-based shipping companies for FEMA violation, finds cash hidden in washing machine

MUMBAI : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted searches at various premises of Mumbai-based Capricornian Shipping & Logistics Pvt Ltd and its directors Mr. Vijay Kumar Shukla and Mr. Sanjay Goswami and their associate entities in five cities while probing an alleged FEMA violation case. The suspected companies are involved in sending foreign exchange outside India on a largescale and made suspicious outward remittances amounting to Rs 1,800 crore, the ED said on Tuesday.

During the search, the agency seized Rs 2.54 crore cash hidden in various places including a washing machine, suspected to be at a company’s director’s place.

Various incriminating documents and digital devices have also been seized and 47 bank accounts of the entities involved have been frozen.

According to the agency, besides raiding premises of Capricornian Shipping & Logistics Pvt Ltd and its directors, it also searched the premises linked to their associates, Laxmiton Maritime, Hindustan International, Rajnandini Metals Limited, Stawart Alloys India Pvt Ltd, Bhagyanagar Limited,

Vinayak Steels Limited, Vashishta Constructions Pvt Ltd, and their directors/partners Sandeep Garg, Vinod Kedia and others.

The raids took place at various locations in Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kurukshetra and Kolkata.

ED has stated that the suspect entities are involved in sending foreign exchange outside India on largescale and made suspicious outward remittances amounting to Rs 1,800 crore to Galaxy Shipping & Logistics Pvt Ltd., Singapore and Horizon Shipping & Logistics Pvt Ltd., Singapore. Both these overseas entities are managed by one Anthony De Silva.

“It has been found during the search that Capricornian Shipping & Logistics Pvt Ltd, Laxmiton Maritime along with its associates made outward remittance to the tune of Rs 1,800 crore to Singapore-based entities in the garb of bogus freight services, imports and layering then through web of complex transactions with the help of shell entities like Neha Metals, Amit Steel Traders, Triple M Metal and Alloys, HMS Metals etc,” the central agency stated in its release.