A family in Visakhapatnam was found by the IT Department to be engaging in money laundering on a humongous level. This family had set up 12 shell companies, 10 of them based in Kolkata, and were siphoning off foreign exchange of approximately Rs 1500 crore.
The preliminary investigation had reportedly revealed that Rs 680 crore had been transferred from four bank accounts in Visakhapatnam to Hong Kong, China and Singapore between April 2015 and March 2017. The money was for import of customised software and inquiries revealed that the claim was bogus.
Further investigation revealed 29 more accounts of the company, with eight accounts revealing inward remittances of Rs 680 crore and outward of Rs 569 crores. These transactions were being done at a commission rate of 85 paisa per dollar that was being transferred. The commissions were then invested in properties, the documents of which are now confiscated. Along with the family, who have been reprimanded by the MVP police station, nine other have been arrested.
The operation was running through multiple PAN cards and by obtaining bogus forms from CA at the cost of Rs 500 per certificate. The family was also floating proprietary/partnership in the name of its employees and opening bank accounts for faking turnover. The IT will be forwarding this case to the Enforcement Directorate and Custom authorities for further action under the FEMA and Customs Act. Cases have been booked against the accused against five different sections.
