Over 900 cases of commercial fraud, smuggling booked in '13-14 by DRI: Jayant Sinha

NEW DELHI: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence ( DRI) has registered over 900 cases of commercial fraud and smuggling during 2012-13 involving a cumulative sum of over Rs 5,067 crore, the government today said.

"The DRI, in the year 2012-13 had registered 927 cases of commercial fraud and outright smuggling, involving duty/amount detection of Rs 5,067.66 crore, including trade-based money laundering cases.

"Out of 927 cases registered, 251 are of commercial fraud, involving seizure of goods valued at Rs 1,130.8 crore," Minister of State for Finance, Jayant Sinha, said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

The minister added that the agency has also recently detected major trade-based money laundering cases.

"Over-valuation in imports of equipment/rough diamonds, wherein an amount of Rs 13,116 crore, in 25 different cases, appears to have been remitted in excess of the cost of the imported items.

"Under-valuation in export of iron ore, wherein an amount of Rs 449 crore, in 16 different cases, has been retained overseas by undervaluing the export of iron ore" have been detected, he said.

The agency has also detected cases of "remittance of foreign exchange equivalent to Rs 1,045 crore in three different cases, on the strength of forged import documents/ proforma invoice, without corresponding physical import of goods", Sinha said.