NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Wednesday that it has arrested notorious hawala operator Naresh Jain, who is suspected to have facilitated illegal transactions amounting to more than Rs 96,000 crore in India using over 600 accounts.
A senior ED official told IANS that the agency has arrested Jain under the sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. A Delhi court sent him to nine days' ED custody.
The official said that Jain along his accomplices has allegedly facilitated illegal transactions involving more than Rs 96,000 crore in India using over 600 bank accounts.
He said that Jain also transferred about Rs 11,800 crore to 114 overseas bank accounts on various pretexts. The official said that he was arrested following a case registered by Economic Offences Wing (EOW).
He said that investigation conducted so far has revealed that Jain along with his accomplices hatched a criminal conspiracy to forge or fabricate documents in order to cause loss to the government exchequer by indulging in illegal foreign exchange transactions.
The official claimed that Jain allegedly ran an international syndicate of transferring funds through hawala channels using shell companies, tour-and-travel firms and through the formal banking network.
He said documents like identity proof, birth and education certificates, voter IDs, PAN cards and signatures were forged . (IANS)