Forex company official held by Customs over illegal forex

Customs officials here on Wednesday claimed to have busted a racket in foreign currency smuggling with the arrest of a senior manager of a forex company.

The official was arrested on the charge of allowing smuggling of huge amount of foreign currencies through illegal purchases by unauthorised people at the forex company's currency exchange counter in the Cochin International Airport, a top official said.

Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar said Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs at the airport detected the violation at the companys counter situated at security hold area of the Cochin International Airport and collected documentary evidence, which had been corroborated by other agencies.

Various kinds of modus operandi were used to allow smuggling of foreign exchange by unauthorised persons over a period of time, Kumar said.

He said multiple number of unauthorised purchases using various passports were done at the forex counter. The evidence pointed to a conspiracy to smuggle out forex by manipulation of records and violation of Reserve Bank of India guidelines.

"Evidence points to illegal export of Rs 17 crore worth of forex from a single counter alone in violation of RBI guidelines, Kumar told PTI.

A showcause notice would be be served on the company in this connection, he said.

The arrested senior manager was remanded to the judicial custody by a court, the official said.