The Enforcement Directorate has filed 3rd chargesheet regarding the gold smuggling under diplomatic baggage of UAE consulate and attached 4.65 crores. Following an investigation, it was discovered that 27 people were accused of participating in money laundering and have since been charged.
With the current attachment included, the total value of the properties that have been attached in this case to date is Rs. 21.50 Crore.
The Gold smuggler Ramees K.T, was arrested by the ED on 05.04.2023 and continues to be under Judicial Custody. The 3rd charge sheet was filed by the enforcement department subsequent to his arrest.
It was reported that during his interrogation, he was inter-alia confronted with more than 2000 voice memos of Telegram chats between him and his associates involved in the above smuggling.
Earlier in this case, the ED had detained P.S. Sarith, Sandeep Nair, M. Sivasankar, and Smt. Swapna Prabha Suresh. In addition to the aforementioned, two Provisional Attachment Orders were issued for the attachment of other movable properties totaling Rs. 16.80 crores.
In addition to the aforementioned, charge sheets have been filed against them asking for their punishment under Section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 as well as the confiscation of the properties linked to the Money Laundering offence.
Back to the facts, there was a seizure of 30 Kgs of gold worth Rs.14.82 Crores at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. The seizure was affected while the gold was being smuggled, camouflaging it as diplomatic baggage to the UAE Consulate.
Read More: HYPERLINK “https://www.taxscan.in/police-to-submit-case-diary-to-special-judge-to-decide-on-section-340-inquiry-against-ed-kerala-hc-quashes-2-firs-against-ed/112284/”Police to Submit Case Diary to Special Judge to Decide on Section 340 Inquiry Against ED: Kerala HC quashes 2 FIRs against ED The gold smuggling issue has created a high-stakes political issue in Kerala as it linked the Personal Secretary of the current Chief Minister of Kerala.
Support our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates
