ED raids tour, travel companies in Delhi, Ghaziabad, seizes Rs 3.57 crores

Photo: Zee Media

New Delhi: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) conducted searches under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) at eight different locations in Delhi and Ghaziabad including residences and offices of Directors of several tours and travel companies and their Chartered Accountants on July 9, 2020.

The searches resulted in seizing unaccounted Indian currency amounting to Rs 3.57 crores along with several incriminating documents and digital records.

ED seizes cash of Rs. 3.57 Crores & incriminating documents under FEMA as a result of searches conducted at 8 different locations of tour & travel companies in Delhi and Ghaziabad in a case related to unauthorized dealings in foreign exchange pic.twitter.com/3Z6LhQ49zb

— ED (@dir_ed) July 11, 2020

Investigations under FEMA were initiated against various entities including tour and travel companies on the basis of specific inputs that these entities were involved in the unauthorized receipt of foreign remittances through payment gateways in the name of providing e-visa services to foreigners. 

Investigations conducted in the matter so far have revealed that two such entities received a foreign remittance of more than Rs 200 crores for processing Indian e-visa applications of foreigners without any authorization from the Government of India. 

These entities were also involved in high-value suspicious transactions. 

Investigations also revealed that certain Chartered Accountants played a key role in managing the affairs of these entities and were behind the suspicious transactions carried out by them. 

The seizure of unaccounted cash of Rs 3.57 crores during the search operations has raised further suspicion about the operations of such entities and their blatant violation of the statutory requirements. 

Further investigation, in this case, is under progress.