The Enforcement Directorate has seized assets worth ₹10.35 crore in the form of mutual funds of Whitefield Chemtech, controlled by businessman Chirayu Amin and his family, in connection with the Panama Papers case. The amount, equivalent to $1.6 million, has been attached under Section 37A of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
“The name of Mr. Amin and his family members had figured in the Panama Papers case with respect to their stakes or interests in Whitefield Global Investments Limited, in the British Virgin Islands,” said the agency. The overseas company had been incorporated allegedly in 2015.
Accordingly, the ED initiated a probe under FEMA. The agency detected that Mr. Amin and his family members — through their Indian company Whitefield Chemtech — had invested $1.6 million for purchase of a three-bedroom apartment at Campden Hill in the United Kingdom.
“For purchase of this property in the U.K., Whitefield Chemtech Pvt. Ltd. transferred an amount of $2.4 million to its subsidiary in Singapore, in the form of Overseas Direct Investment. This amount was further transferred to its step-down subsidiaries in the United Arab Emirates and the British Virgin Islands, from where $1.6 million were used for purchase of this property,” the ED said.
Section 37A of FEMA stipulates that if certain foreign exchange, foreign security or immovable property is held outside India in violation of the Act, then a value equivalent to the amount can be seized within India.
“Accordingly, an equivalent asset amounting to ₹10.35 crore in the form of mutual funds was seized under the provision,” said an official.
