ED attaches over Rs 7-crore assets in duty-free gold diversion case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said it has attached assets worth over Rs 7 crore of a company in connection with a case of alleged diversion of duty-free imported gold. A provisional order for attachment of seized cash, gold jewellery and silver worth Rs 7.47 crore has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against the firm -- Shri Lal Mahal, it said.

The ED case against the company and its promoters is based on an earlier complaint filed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in Noida, under sections of the Customs Act for "diversion of 586 kgs of duty-free imported gold in the domestic market and evading of Customs duty."

The agency claimed in a statement that the probe revealed "Shri Lal Mahal Ltd. and its related entity Bindra Sales Pvt Ltd, its beneficial owners Prem Chand Garg, Anita Garg and others were involved in criminal offences and had acquired proceeds of crime by diverting the duty-free imported gold in the domestic market and evading Customs duty to the tune of Rs 17.54 crore."