ED Conducts Raid in Rs 2800 Crore Money Laundering Probe

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches across four cities in Gujarat and Maharashtra in a Rs 2800 crore money laundering investigation linked to Paplaj Foreign Trade LLP. The probe revealed significant irregularities in diamond import-export transactions. Incriminating documents and electronic devices were seized.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches in four cities across Gujarat and Maharashtra as part of a Rs 2800 crore money laundering investigation involving Paplaj Foreign Trade LLP, according to a statement released on Monday. The searches were conducted under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, by ED's Surat unit at the premises of Paplaj Foreign Trade LLP, along with those of its partners, Somabhai Sunderbhai Meena and Ojaskumar Mohanlal Naik, and associates across Surat, Vadodara, Mumbai, and Pune.

During the operations, the agency recovered various incriminating documents and electronic devices. ED's investigation was initiated on suspicion that Paplaj Foreign Trade LLP had made large, dubious outward remittances linked to overvaluation in diamond import and export transactions.

The probe revealed that Paplaj Foreign Trade LLP had overvalued the import of diamonds, remitting Rs 2800 crore between July 2023 and March 2024. Further findings indicated that the firm received an equivalent amount from non-existent entities in Surat, Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune, and subsequently remitted the sum to eight entities based in Hong Kong. According to ED, the entities transferring Rs 2800 crore to Paplaj Foreign Trade LLP were shell companies engaged in complex transactions masquerading as diamond sales and purchases.

(With inputs from agencies.)