ED searches at dozen locations in Delhi for FEMA violations

The Enforcement Directorate today conducted searches at a dozen locations in Delhi, including on the premises of a former Congress MLA, in connection with its probe in a foreign exchange violation case.
Officials in the agency said business and residential premises at locations in East of Kailash, Barakhamba Road and few in south Delhi were searched by its sleuths, under provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
The premises of the former Congress MLA, who deals in real estate, were searched along with a person who allegedly works as an hawala operator, they said.
The action is on at about a dozen locations in the national capital, officials said.

The searches were carried out as a follow up to similar raids conducted by the ED against a pharmaceutical firm in Gujarat recently, they said.
On August 5, the agency had searched at least 11 premises of the pharma group, identified as Vadodara-based Sandesara Group of Companies, in Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Delhi under the FEMA provisions.
The investigations, in this case, are related to huge amounts of black money being generated by allegedly routing dubious funds including those with political links.
The agency, in a statement, had said that the companies owned by the group were "indulging in transactions which are complex and suspicious in nature and are being routed through intermediary entities situated in and outside India".