ED seizes Ahmedabad forex firm's assets worth Rs 3.10 crore in illegal trading case

Ahmedabad, Sep 19 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at the premises of a foreign exchange trader in Ahmedabad and seized cash and other assets worth Rs 3.10 crore in a case of illegal forex trading, said the central agency on Tuesday.
The searches at locations linked to TP Global FX were carried out under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, (PMLA), said an ED release.
The operation led to the seizure of Rs 1.36 crore in cash, 1.2 kg of gold worth Rs 71 lakh, two luxury cars worth Rs 89 lakh and Rs 14.72 lakh in a bank account, said the release.
The financial probe agency said incriminating documents were seized during the search operation at locations associated with the firm, which had no authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for forex trading.
"The ED initiated an investigation on the basis of an FIR registered under various sections of the IPC by the Kolkata Police against M/s TM Traders and M/s KK Traders. As per the RBI, TP Global FX is neither registered with it nor does it have any authorisation from the RBI for forex trading," said the release.
The central bank had also issued an "Alert List" having the name of TP Global FX a year ago to caution people against such unauthorised trading platforms, said the release.
The ED investigation revealed that some persons linked to the company, Prasenjit Das, Shailesh Kumar Pandey, Tushar Patel and others, through various dummy firms had defrauded people under the guise of making investments in forex trading. These funds were subsequently used in purchase of movable or immovable properties for personal benefits of accused persons, the release said.
Earlier, the central agency had arrested Pandey and Das, who are currently in jail under judicial custody, and frozen Rs 121.02 crore lying in the bank accounts of the accused persons, said the release.
Properties worth Rs 118.27 crore in form of flats, vehicles, hotels and resorts have been attached and prosecution complaints filed against Pandey and Das and their trial was under progress, it said.
Further investigation was underway, said the release.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)