The Aryavarth Express
Agency(New Delhi): The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has recently conducted a series of operations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, targeting entities involved in illegal mining and smuggling activities across multiple locations in India, leading to significant seizures and asset freezes.
In Bhubaneswar, the ED’s search operations covered 12 sites across Bhubaneswar, Barbil, Rourkela, and Kolkata, focusing on entities such as M/s Deepak Steel & Power Ltd and M/s Snehapusph Marketing (P) Ltd, among others, in connection to an illegal iron ore mining scam in Joda, District-Keonjhar, Odisha. This operation was prompted by FIRs and chargesheets filed by the Vigilance Department of the Odisha Police. The investigation unveiled that the proceeds of crime from illegal mining were laundered through various shell companies with fictitious directors. Items seized during the operation include Rs 30 lakh in cash, 2 kg of gold bullion valued at Rs 1.24 crore, a Volvo XC40 car, along with digital devices and incriminating documents. The ED also froze Rs 1.23 crore across six bank accounts related to the directors of the accused companies.
Simultaneously, in Mumbai, the ED’s Zonal Office has provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs. 72.45 crore belonging to individuals such as Badshah Majid Malik and Vijay Subbanna Poojary, implicated in a smuggling ring involving Red Sanders. This investigation stemmed from a Prosecution Complaint by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and revealed Malik’s involvement in smuggling between 2008 to 2010 and 2014 to 2015, generating proceeds of crime amounting to Rs. 94 crore. The laundered money was invested in various immovable properties through a company established by Malik. Following a search operation in December 2021, Malik was arrested and is currently in judicial custody.
These operations underline the ED’s commitment to combatting money laundering and its associated crimes, with further investigations underway to fully dismantle these illegal networks.