The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Chennai has provisionally attached properties worth ₹150 crore belonging to Gold Quest International Pvt Ltd, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
“This was a case of money circulation business and cheating the public. They were selling coins among other items, and told buyers that these are limited editions and lured them into their network,” a senior official at ED Chennai told The Hindu . “Further investigations are still on,” he added.
Immovable properties like residential buildings, vacant lands, commercial complexes in places including Chennai, Madurai, Hyderabad and Mumbai with a document value of ₹16 crore (market value ₹56 crore) were attached. In addition, shares and mutual funds (₹14 crore), deposits in various banks (₹48 crore), articles of gold and silver (₹27 crore) and cash seized during searches by police (₹5.3 crore) were also provisionally attached.
Inflated prices
The Tamil Nadu police registered a case against Gold Quest International Pvt Ltd in 2009, after receiving complaints of cheating from the public. The firm was selling gold coins and other articles at exorbitant prices saying the articles were of limited edition, having numismatic values. Investigations revealed that the company has expanded its operations and also paid huge commissions to the people marketing the products. “This was a clear case of money laundering and ED registered a case in 2016 and commenced the investigation process,” the ED official said.
People who held key position in the firm including Pushpam Appalanaidu, K. Padma and Munnawar Ahamed were examined and voluntary statements were recorded under provisions of the PMLA. The investigations revealed that these people acquired several properties using the proceeds of the crime in the name of Gold Quest International Pvt. Ltd, Quest Net Enterprises and Pallava Resorts Ltd.
