The Directorate of Vartan (ED) Raipur Zonal Office on Friday temporarily attached assets worth about Rs 3.76 crore to Sachin Kedar and Purushottam Kavale, members associated with the gold smuggling syndicate. These include deposits, flats and land deposited in bank accounts.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Raipur Zonal Office has temporarily attached assets worth about Rs 3.76 crore to Sachin Kedar and Purushottam Kavale, members associated with the gold smuggling syndicate on Friday. These include deposits, flats and land deposited in bank accounts. This action has been taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002.
Prosecution started on the basis of complaint
The ED started this investigation on the basis of prosecution complaint lodged by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) under Section 135 of the Customs Act 1962. In this case, Carriers who smuggled gold and caught the DRI. The recovered gold was of foreign origin, which was illegally brought to India and sent to Raipur for consumption. Its mastermind Vijay Baid alias Vicky has been described.
Gold brought through India-Bangladesh border
ED investigation revealed that Sachin Kedar smuggled foreign gold from Kolkata to Raipur, Durg, Rajnandgaon, Nagpur and Mumbai on the instructions of Vijay Baid. This gold was brought through the Indo-Bangladesh border. After this it was sold to the famous jewelers of Raipur. Those who were sold this gold include Sunil Kumar Jain (Saheli Jewelers), Prakash Sankhala (Navkar Jewelers), Sumit Jewelers, Purushottam Kavale (Sagar Jewelers) and Dheej Baid.
Illegal assets worth Rs 260.97 crore
According to the investigating agency, illegal assets worth Rs 260.97 crore in the form of smuggled foreign gold and silver are estimated in this case. So far, assets worth Rs 64.14 crore have been seized or attached by the ED.
