Rs 2,800 crore money laundering case: ED raid on Surat firm

SURAT: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) held searches in four cities of Gujarat and Maharashtra in a Rs 2,800 crore money laundering investigation linked with Paplaj Foreign Trade LLP, a Surat-based jewellery firm.
The searches were conducted under provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) by ED's Surat unit on the premises of Paplaj Foreign Trade LLP, its partners Somabhai Sunderbhai Meena and Ojaskumar Mohanlal Naik.
The search was also carried out at locations of associates of the firm in the city, Vadodara, Mumbai and Pune.
ED recovered various incriminating documents and electronic devices during the search.
The investigation was initiated by the agency based on information about the involvement of the firm in large-scale suspicious outward remittances on account of the overvaluation of the import and export of diamonds.
The investigation revealed that Paplaj Foreign Trade LLP did an overvaluation of import of diamonds and remitted Rs 2,800 crore from July 2023 to Mar 2024.
ED further found that the firm had received the money from various non-existent entities based in the city, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune and remitted the same to eight entities based in Hong Kong.
During the investigation, it was also found that the entities that transferred the money to the firm under investigation were shell entities and had provided accommodation entries through a web of complex transactions in the garb of the sale - purchase of diamonds.