ED searches Surat firm in Rs 2,284 Crore hawala transaction probe

Surat: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently conducted searches at the premises of a Surat-based Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) firm and associated entities, suspecting their involvement in Hawala transactions totaling Rs 2,284 crore.

The locations searched included Sharanam Jewels LLP, situated in the Surat Special Economic Zone (SEZ), its promoter Avadh Harshad Yagnik, Vansh Marketing (a sole proprietorship owned by Ashik Patel), and other entities in Ahmedabad, Surat, and Dhubri in Assam. The searches, conducted under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), were initiated based after a tip-off suggesting huge foreign exchange transactions and suspicious outward remittances by these entities.

The LLP firm, engaged in the import and export of gems and jewelry, reported transactions amounting to Rs 3,700 crore in the last two years. The firm had reported a closing stock of Rs 520 crore in its books; however, upon physical verification, only stock worth Rs 19.7 lakh was found, said the ED.

It is alleged that the firm and associated entities facilitated “accommodation (hawala) entries” exceeding Rs 5,000 crore. The central agency has frozen the firm’s bank deposits totaling Rs 1.14 crore. DeshGujarat