ED searches CAs, tax professionals; arrests one from Raipur

The ED today conducted searches against at least six Chartered Accountants (CAs) and some tax professionals in Delhi while it arrested one from Raipur in connection with its money laundering probe against shell companies.
The agency said it arrested CA Sunil Agrawal (46) from Raipur in connection with its PMLA case against Chhattisgarh cadre IAS officer Babulal Agrawal.
It said Sunil was arrested for "his role in aiding and laundering of tainted money belonging to Agrawal".
"He (Sunil) is practising under his firm named Ms Agrawal Sunil Kumar and Co at Rajeev Nagar in Raipur. He was the key person who helped Agarwal in laundering inappropriate money received by Agrawal (Babulal) through opening of the bank accounts, deposit of cash in those accounts, opening of shell companies, transfer of money from accounts to shell companies and investment by shell companies in Mss Prime Ispat Limited," the agency said in a statement.

In Delhi, the agency said it searched the premises of at least six CAs in connection with "benami transactions of over Rs 200 crore using shell companies formed by Jain brothers" identified as Surendra Kumar Jain and Virendra Kumar Jain.
The agency is probing them under a case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Searches were conducted at the premises of CAs/mediators located at Lakshmi Nagar, Dilshad Garden, Rana Pratap Bagh, Azadpur, Karolbagh, Model Town, Dariba Kalan and Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in the national capital, it said.
"During the searches, incriminating documents, digital hard disks, related to beneficiaries' transactions have been resumed for further investigation," it said.

The action was also a follow up of the country-wide searches the agency carried out early this month against 500 shell companies suspected to be generating huge amounts of black money.
The ED had conducted nationwide raids on April 1 in 16 states as part of its operation against shell firms and to hunt down those allegedly dubious and suspicious companies which the agency believes are the "backbone" of black money in the country.
Shell companies are firms set up with nominal paid-up capital, high reserves and surplus on account of receipt of high share premium, investment in unlisted companies and no dividend income or high amount of cash-in-hand.

Such firms also characteristically have private companies as majority shareholders, low turnover and operating income, nominal expenses, nominal statutory payments and stock in trade and minimum fixed assets.