Who was arrested for the Rs 696 crore illegal remittance case?

New Delhi, Aug 31 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken into custody a suspect linked to a money laundering scheme involving Rs 696 crore in unlawful remittances from India to Singapore and Hong Kong, utilizing a Chartered Accountant's credentials, as reported by an official on Sunday.

Amit Aggarwal was apprehended on August 30 during the investigation concerning Kinzal Freight Forwarding (OPC) Private Limited and other parties for transferring massive sums of money by exploiting the credentials of Chartered Accountant Vikash Mohpal through forged documentation.

Aggarwal played a pivotal role in constructing a complex network of entities that employed false identities and established various bank accounts to facilitate the illegal money transfers, stated the ED.

A Special PMLA Court has placed him in ED custody for a duration of seven days, according to an official.

He later orchestrated credit entries into the bank accounts of these entities from numerous other sources in exchange for cash.

The Delhi zonal office of the ED commenced its investigation following the filing of an FIR by the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police for various criminal offenses, including cheating, forgery, and conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code, 1860, as per a statement.

The ED noted that this case attracted their scrutiny due to the substantial amount of funds—totaling Rs 696.69 crore—that were remitted from India to Hong Kong and Singapore under the pretense of importing goods and services and paying freight charges.

However, there was largely no legitimate provision of goods and services within India associated with these remittances, resulting in significant foreign exchange losses to the exchequer, according to the ED.

The central agency added that a complicated web of entities was established to facilitate fraudulent financial transactions for the transfer of funds from India.

The directors, proprietors, or partners of the implicated entities utilized forged identification documents, resulting in the establishment of bank accounts in the names of these entities using the same falsified identities.

To carry out the outward remittances, these entities arranged for credit entries in their respective bank accounts in exchange for cash, subsequently using forged airway bills, invoices, and counterfeit Form 15 CB (an accountant's certificate mandated under Income Tax Rules for payments to non-residents or foreign companies) to transfer funds outside India, the ED added.