New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has
for the first time filed a charge sheet against a Singapore-
based firm for alleged foreign exchange violations worth Rs
185 crore in the last year's Commonwealth Games.
The ED has filed the complaint (equivalent to a charge
sheet) against the firm -- Pico Event Marketing Private
Limited -- for allegedly contravening foreign exchange rules
for undertaking overlays works during the Games.
The Singapore-based firm will soon be issued notices to
explain their case to the adjudicating authority of the ED,
who is probing a host of transactions and events related to
the Games for alleged charges of money laundering and forex
violations.
"The complaint has been registered under the provisions
of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and there is a
provision of 300 per cent penalties, if the charges are upheld
by the adjudicating authority who is a senior officer of the
ED," sources said.
The firm earlier had a tie-up with an Indian company
'Deepali', run by a relative of BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal,
for Games-related works but it was terminated subsequently.
The premises of 'Pico-Deepali' consortium were also
searched by the I-T department early this year during their
probe related to the Games.
The ED, during its probe in this case, has found that
requisite permission from the RBI for routing of funds and
making huge transactions abroad were not taken.
The probe in the financial dealings of other CWG
related works are still under the agency's probe.
The ED has earlier questioned sacked CWG Chairman Suresh
Kalmadi and other Organising Committee officials during its
probe.
PTI
First Published: Friday, December 23, 2011, 17:58