Visakhapatnam: Though Vaddi Mahesh, 24, supposedly the kingpin in a multi-crore hawala scam unearthed by the Income-Tax Department, was arrested on Sunday, Vizag police believes he was just a cog in the wheel.
The Rs 1,600 crore money laundering racket was unearthed by IT officials on Friday night. Officials have named Mahesh, his father, Vaddi Srinivasa Rao, and his friends, Achanta Harish and Chanta Rajesh, all from West Godavari, in the case. Kolkata-based CAs Prasanta Kumar Roy Barman and Praveen Kumar Jha and businessmen Ayush Goel, Vineet Goenka and Vikar Gupta are also the accused.
Mahesh is yet to reveal the source of money that was funnelled out of the country. I-T and police sources said he was just a tool and their investigation is focusing on the source of money, including whose amount was sent abroad and how it was transferred to India and into whose accounts.
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Officials said a sum of Rs 680.94 crore was received by hawala operators in several dubious bank accounts in Vizag, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Of this, Rs 569.93 crore was sent out of the country using fake documents.
IT officials have evidence that strengthens their doubts that the transactions took place post-demonetisation.
A senior police officer, seeking anonymity, said Mahesh’s arrest would not give many leads in the case as the role of Goel, Goenka and Gupta is very crucial. The trio was the source of crores from various sources for the hawala operations.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Dwarka Zone) P. Ramachandra Rao said Mahesh was arrested on Sunday and he will be produced before the court on Monday and sent to remand.
Police sources said two more accused in the case were taken into custody by Vizag police in West Godavari district on Sunday evening. The others accused people have left Kolkata to evade arrest.
