The ED initiated its inquiry based on a complaint filed by ICICI Bank in Surat, as well as an FIR registered by Surat Police. These reports alleged that RA Distributors Pvt. Ltd. and eight other companies had submitted forged Bills of Entry (BoEs) and transferred funds to three UAE-based and fifteen Hong Kong-based entities.
During the course of the investigation, it was revealed that proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 58.14 crore and Rs 2.81 crore had been received by Pankaj Kapur and Vijen Girishchandra Jhaveri in the UAE and Hong Kong, respectively.
The ED's statement explained that these illicit funds were transferred abroad from entities under the control and management of Mumbai-based diamond traders Madan Lal Jain and Afroz Fatta. This transfer was executed based on falsified BoEs and related documents.
To address their alleged involvement in criminal activities, ten immovable properties owned by Pankaj Kapur, Vijen Girishchandra Jhaveri, and their family members have been provisionally attached under Section 5 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
In this particular case, the ED has already issued nine provisional attachment orders, totaling Rs 60 crore in attached properties. Consequently, the combined value of both movable and immovable properties attached in connection with this case now stands at Rs 115 crore.
