ED Arrests Fifth Accused in Rs 329 Crore Money-Laundering Case

The Enforcement Directorate arrested Jatin Chopra in connection with a money-laundering case involving Rs 329 crore allegedly transferred using fake import bills. Arrests were previously made in July. The accused created shell entities to transfer funds to Hong Kong and Singapore, posing a threat to India's economic security.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has made a fifth arrest in a high-profile money-laundering case. Authorities apprehended Jatin Chopra on September 15 from his residence in Gurugram, Haryana. The arrest follows a non-bailable warrant issued by a court in July, based on Chopra's repeated absence despite multiple summonses.

This case originates from an FIR filed by the Delhi Police's Special Cell. Earlier in July, the ED had arrested Ashish Kumar Verma, Vipin Batra, Rupesh Batra, and Mohan Madaan. All are accused of creating 20 shell companies to illicitly transfer USD 45.23 million using fake and forged import documents like PAN, Aadhaar, and voter ID cards.

According to the ED, the misappropriated funds were sent abroad, purportedly as payment for imported services, and later funneled primarily to Hong Kong and Singapore. This fraudulent scheme is said to have compromised India's economic security and resulted in significant financial losses for various government departments, while giving wrongful gains to the perpetrators.

(With inputs from agencies.)