Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chhagan Bhujbal figure in ED list of top launderers

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate has drawn up a list of top money launderers and the shell companies used by them to transact unaccounted money. The list includes some top politicians of the country.

Topping the list is one Afroz Mohammed Hasanfatta and Madanlal Jain of Surat who remitted money to Dubai and Hong Kong through forged bills of entry. Together the duo allegedly laundered Rs 5,400 crore through 30 shell companies.

NKS Holdings Pvt Ltd of Delhi is second on the list and allegedly laundered Rs 3,790 crore using 95 shell companies, followed by the accused in the Bank of Baroda case in Delhi where 115 shell companies were used to launder Rs 3,600 crore and remittances sent abroad. The operators of NKS Holdings accepted black money of "clients" and converted them into share premium through shell companies to make them look like legitimate business transactions.




The politicians in the list include Jagan Mohan Reddy of YSR Congress who is accused by the agency of laundering at least Rs 368 crore through 31 shell companies linked to him and his associates. The other prominent politician is Chhagan Bhujbal, NCP leader and former deputy CM of Maharashtra, who is being investigated for allegedly laundering Rs 200 crore using 81 shell companies.

Rajeshwar Exports of Mumbai had the highest number of 312 shell companies which laundered Rs 1,500 crore. Jaipur, Jalandhar, Raipur, Hyderabad, Chennai and Panaji were among the cities where entities engaged in laundering in a big way. The ED tracked about 1,000 shell companies recently involved in such activities, some of which were linked to terror funding.

"These shell companies were used to conceal the nature, origin and destination of misappropriated funds by concealing the beneficiary and the proceeds of crime generated out of corruption," a senior ED official said.

Shell companies are those which have no real business activity and are merely registered to launder unaccounted and illegal money earned by businessmen, corrupt bureaucrats and politicians. Some of this laundered money is allegedly proceeds of crime through illegal activity like bullion smuggling, narcotics trade or terror activity.

An IAS officer, Babulal Agarwal, also figured on the list. Agarwal, former Chhattisgarh principal secretary, is accused of laundering Rs 60 crore through at least 13 shell companies.