It was a money laundering case, not hawala in Vizag: DGP

VIJAYAWADA: Director general of police N. Sambasiva Rao said that it was money laundering that has happened in the Visakhapatnam case but not hawala transactions. Speaking to reporters to explain the progress of the case, the DGP said that the CID, after taking over the case, has identified eight persons involved in the faulty deals and added them as accused.

Mr Sambasiva Rao  said that huge amounts changed hands through shell companies based in Kolkata. Though Vaddi Mahesh appears to be the kingpin in the case, he was claiming that he only brokered the deals. The CID has zeroed in on Ayush Goel, Vineeth Goenka and Vikas Gupta as the main conspirators in the case and is in the process of identifying them. “We have already issued look-out notices to all airports and ports to see that they will not get away from the country. If need be, we will raise the flag with the Interpole,” said Mr Sambasiva Rao.

Based on the complaint given by the Incom Tax department, Rs 680 crore transactions were made with forged documents through 14 shell companies. The money was routed through China, Singapore and Hong Kong into 12 accounts. Around Rs 533 crore were credited in a single account with Canara Bank, said Mr Sambasiva Rao. He said the CID is also looking into the role of some charted accountants in the case. Prashanth Kumar Rai Burman and Praveen Kumar Jha were charted accountants and connected to the shell companies, he said.

The DGP further said that they are ready to deploy as many teams as requested in investigating the case. The CID has made good progress till now and will complete the investigation in a time-bound manner, he said. “We are also taking the help of Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the case as and when required as the ED is having exclusive jurisdiction to attach the assets,” said Mr Sambasiva Rao.