ED attaches Rs 58 lakh worth of assets of travel agent in laundering case

Assets worth Rs 58 lakh of a travel agent have been attached as part of money laundering probe linked to alleged cheating of people in name of arranging visas of different countries for them, ED said

Assets worth Rs 58 lakh of a Ludhiana-based travel agent have been attached as part of a money laundering probe linked to alleged cheating of people in the name of arranging work permit visas of different countries for them, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Friday.

A provisional order of attachment has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach some commercial properties of the travel agent, Nitish Ghai, it said in a statement.

The money laundering case stems from multiple FIRs filed by the Punjab Police against Ghai and some others.

The travel agent has been accused of "cheating" the general public by offering them "false allurement" of providing work permit visas of different countries, a promise that never materialised nor the payments made by the victims were returned, the ED alleged.

It was found that 35 police FIRs against the accused are currently under trial or under investigation.

Bank accounts of Nitish Ghai were scrutinised and it was found that he used to take cash from the gullible public in the guise of providing them work permits abroad.

Subsequently, this cash was deposited in bank accounts maintained by him and his family members and various consultancy firms being operated by him, the ED alleged.

These cash deposits were then used to "acquire" immovable properties, the agency said.