ED attaches Hyd-based jeweller's assets worth Rs 25.28 cr in gold smuggling case

According to an Enforcement Directorate statement issued on Wednesday, the attached assets include residential villas and 54 kg of gold.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 25.28 crore belonging to Hyderabad-based jeweller Sanjay Agarwal, Radhika Agarwal and Preet Kumar Agarwal in a case related to smuggling of gold originally meant for export. According to an ED statement issued on Wednesday, the attached assets include residential villas and 54 kg of gold. 

The ED had launched a money laundering probe after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Kolkata, had registered a case under the provisions of Customs Act, 1962, for smuggling of gold and diverting the same to the domestic market.

Search operations by the ED in Hyderabad on March 9 and July 19 this year had resulted in the seizure of incriminating documents that revealed acquisition of properties by the accused persons in the name of their associates, the note stated. Earlier in March, Preet Kumar Agarwal, son of Sanjay Agarwal, Ghanshyamdas Gems and Jewels was arrested in a case of gold smuggling worth Rs 100 crore, as officials accused him of diverting 250 kg of gold, violating the Customs Act. 

Before his arrest, the Delhi High court quashed preventive detention



orders passed by the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (COFEPOSA) unit of the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau.

During the investigation by the ED, it was revealed that the gold procured duty-free from nominated agencies such as MMTC and the state trading corporation, and meant to be exported, was allegedly diverted to the domestic market by Sanjay Agarwal with the active connivance of his relatives and other associates. Earlier, the ED had arrested Preet Kumar Agarwal in this case for his active role in money laundering activities. 

A special court (PMLA) in Kolkata has issued non-bailable warrants against the other accused persons, namely Sanjay Agarwal, Radhika Agarwal, Ajay Kumar Agarwal and Avinash Soni.

In February, the ED attached assets worth over Rs130 crore of various Hyderabad-based jewellery houses and their promoters during its investigation into the alleged scam that was carried out during the 2016 demonetisation exercise. The ED at the time attached properties of Musaddilal Gems and Jewels Pvt Ltd, Vaishnavi Bullion Pvt Ltd and Musaddilal Jewellers Pvt Ltd. The attached assets include 41 immovable properties, investments made in shares and jewellery, and bullion worth Rs 83.30 crore amounting to a total value of Rs 130.57 crore.