Other States
-
New Delhi
Former diplomat held with foreign currency
By Our Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI, DEC. 8. A high-level former Swedish diplomat who had held ambassadorial posts in Syria and Lebanon was nabbed with about Rs. 5 crores worth of illegal foreign currency by official of the Directorate-General of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Indira Gandhi International Airport here on Friday.
Informed sources said on Saturday that the former diplomat, Mr. Rolf Gustav Richard Gauffin, and his wife, Ms. Jeanne Francoise Mary Marguer Gauffin, were to board a Singapore Airlines flight (SQ-407) scheduled to leave for Singapore at 8-50 p.m., but were apprehended by DRI and Customs officials half-an-hour earlier. Both were apparently holding diplomatic passports and had been issued diplomatic visas by the Indian Embassy in Stockholm.
Acting on specific intelligence that Mr. Gauffin and his wife were trying to smuggle out large amounts of foreign currency, the DRI had mounted surveillance on the two passengers. Due to their diplomatic passports, the two accused were able to breeze past the Immigration and Customs counters.
However, sources said since some of the senior Customs officials at IGIA had been alerted, the DRI with their help confronted the couple at a security point after the Customs counter. It is learnt that while Mr. Gauffin and his wife had checked in no baggage, they had three pieces of hand baggage between them.
On carrying out a search, sources said, five packets in large brown covers carrying US$ 800,000 and small amounts of other foreign currencies, including Canadian Dollars, Deutsch Mark, and Saudi Riyads were recovered. The total amounted to Rs. 5.01 crores. Apparently, while the currency was wrapped in newspapers, it also had a second layer of black polythene covering.
Investigations revealed that Mr. Gauffin has been an ambassador of Sweden in Syria and Lebanon. This apart, he was a Minister at the Swedish Embassy here between 1983 and 1987. While the passports were confirmed as genuine, the two accused, sources said, did not enjoy diplomatic immunity as they were not accredited diplomats.
It is understood that Mr. Gauffin has been a frequent visitor to India of late. And like on earlier occasions, the purpose of the present visit was related to his new-found occupation of journalism, which he is said to have taken up after his last diplomatic assignment in 1991. He has told investigators that he writes on contemporary political issues related to South Asia and Afghanistan for a Paris-based news portal.
In India since November 18, Mr. Gauffin and his wife stayed at India International Centre here and even made a short trip to Hong Kong during their stay. It is learnt that the currency was passed on to him by one Mr. Ashok, and was to be handed over to a certain Mr. Raj in Singapore. The accused is said to have also received a commission of $ 5,000 from Mr. Ashok at Lodi Gardens on Wednesday.
An affluent person with good contacts, sources said, he has residences at Paris and Stockholm. Besides informing the Ministry of External Affairs of the case, DRI officials here have also sought to know the circumstances that led to the granting of a diplomatic visa to the accused.
Investigations were on to identify the exact chain through which the currency was being smuggled. It is understood that while there had been numerous arrests related to smuggling of foreign currency to the Middle-East, this was a rare case of smuggling to Singapore. The catch is also being dubbed as one of the biggest from a diplomat in recent times.
Meanwhile, Mr. Gauffin and his wife have been remanded to judicial custody under relevant sections of the Customs Act, the Foreign Exchange Management Act, and Reserve Bank of India rules.
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Other States
|
