ED attaches assets worth over Rs 118 cr in illegal forex trading case

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The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has attached various kinds of movable and immovable assets like mutual funds, shares, bonds, flats and houses worth more than Rs 118 crore as part of a money laundering probe into illegal forex trading by a company and its promoters.

A provisional order for attachment of these properties, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), belonging to Prasenjit Das, Shailesh Pandey, Tushar Patel and a company called TP Global FX has been undertaken, the federal probe agency said in a statement.

The money laundering case stems from an FIR registered by the Kolkata Police.

The attached assets, worth a total of Rs 118.27 crore, is in the form of shares, mutual funds, bonds, AIF/PMS (alternative investment funds and portfolio management services), cash in bank accounts, a luxury vehicle (MG Hector), flats, commercial business places, hotels and resorts, it said.

The probe found that Das, Pandey, Patel and some others used various "dummy" companies/firms/entities controlled and managed by them, and "defrauded" public under the guise of making investments in forex trading by using the platform/website of TP Global FX, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said.

"After collecting the substantial amount, such funds were layered and transferred to companies/entities in which accused persons/dummy persons were the director/proprietor without the knowledge/information of gullible investors and subsequently such funds were used in purchase of movable/immovable properties for personal benefits of accused persons," it said.

Das and Pandey were also arrested by the ED in this case and they are currently in judicial custody.