ED arrests money laundering network kingpin, secures 5-day custody from court

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Bhimendra Kumar Goyal under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 and has secured 5 days of custody from the Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Visakhapatnam.

Accused Bhimendra Kumar Goyal has been arrested by ED in connection with an ongoing PMLA investigation in which he is the kingpin of an international trade-based money laundering network used to send compensatory hawala payments abroad for importing under-valued goods into India.

ED initiated Investigation under PMLA on the basis of FIR registered by Andhra Pradesh Police against Vaddi Mahesh and others on the complaint of the Income Tax Department under Sections 420, 465, 468, 471, 120 B of IPC.

As per an official release by ED, investigation conducted so far under PMLA, has revealed that Vaddi Mahesh along with others had incorporated several shell compes and firms and opened bank accounts with various banks in the names of those compes/firms and remitted huge amounts of Foreign Outward Remittances equivalent to Rs 1,500 crore to various compes in Singapore, China and Hong Kong in the guise of import of non-existent 'customised software'. Vaddi Mahesh admitted that he had remitted FOWRs to compes in Singapore, Hong Kong and China at the instructions of Bhimendra Kumar Goyal.

The investigation also revealed that accused Bhimendra Kumar Goyal is a habitual smuggler who has several pending cases against him with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and customs department for evasion of customs duty for the import of under-valued goods and outright smuggling of goods into India.

Accused Bhimendra Kumar Goyal was absconding for many years and is suspected to have settled in Singapore and was recently detained under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Act, 1974 and was lodged in Tihar Jail.

On the orders of the PMLA Vizag Court, accused Bhimendra Kumar Goyal was brought to Visakhapatnam on a Prisoner's Transit Warrant and arrested under PMLA and now 5 days of Enforcement Custody has been granted by the Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Visakhapatnam. His custodial interrogation is going on.

Further investigation is in progress.

( With inputs from ANI )