The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Friday that a man from Nagpur had been detained as part of a money laundering investigation related to a case of smuggling imported betel nuts over the border between India and Myanmar while avoiding customs duties.
Wasim Bawla was detained by the ED until June 30 after being arrested on Thursday under the penal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), according to the report.
The agency claims that Bawla was “actively involved in the smuggling of foreign-origin betel nuts through his active association with traders from Assam, transporters, warehouse owners, and shell entities (dubious firms) which lent bogus invoices to facilitate the sale purchase of betel nuts in the Nagpur region.”
According to the agency’s statement, Bawla also “used ill-gotten proceeds of smuggling to purchase secret official documents by bribing contractual staff of the ED.”
Despite being in Nagpur, it said that he “made all the efforts” to dodge the ED inquiry by regularly switching phones, failing to show up for summonses, and refusing to take part in the search.
According to the claim, Bawla’s replies were “contradictory” and his behaviour was “evasive and untruthful.”
The CBI and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) filed the complaint that led to the money laundering case.
The DRI, a division of the Union finance ministry, had looked into a number of Nagpur-based businessmen who were buying betel nuts of foreign origin.
The ED said that its investigation discovered “large amounts were transferred to a few Assam-based parties, which were ultimately withdrawn in cash and this money was suspected to have been used for the purchase of smuggled foreign origin betel nuts.”
The ED said that “the betel nuts of foreign origin were transported to Nagpur by fabricating domestic invoices, transportation bills, etc.”
