A multi-crore fraud allegedly committed by eight importers in the city is under the scanner of the Central Crime Branch and Enforcement Directorate here. Several of the proprietors have been arrested while four others are at large still.
The Principal Commissioner of Customs, Chennai Docks Intelligence Unit, passed on an intelligence tip-off on illegal outward remittances of foreign exchange by certain unscrupulous importers by submitting fake import documents. Based on the intelligence input, Indian Bank, Thousand Lights Branch, suspecting the genuineness of eight account holders, approached the Customs Authorities informally to ascertain the genuineness of the bills of entry based on which they were making outward remittances of foreign exchange for imports. The Customs authorities replied that the bills of entry submitted by six importers were non-existent. The bank lodged a complaint with the Central Crime Branch of City Police.
The police, after collecting the evidence of forgery from Customs, registered a case against these entities and took up the investigation. Waseem Liyakat Ali, proprietor of Galaxy Impex, Linghi Chetti Street, was arrested by ED and CCB last May. Interestingly, a week ago, a special court for CCB cases granted bail to him in the case filed by CCB. He is still in remand in connection with the money laundering case booked against him as the agency opposed the bail. In the case, ED cited eight proprietors of private firms, including Liyakat Ali, as accused and seven of them are still to be arrested.
The ED said that there was a cartel of unscrupulous importers/ entities involved in money laundering.
