ED arrests Sanjay Agarwal under PMLA for smuggling gold

Agarwal, who was arrested from Amby Valley City, Lonavala, Pune on Sunday, had come to the city for attending a wedding function.

The ED said that the accused was on the run for more than six months after the PMLA court had issued non-bailable warrants (NBW) against him in April earlier this year.

The NBW had remained unexecuted thus far. In another development in the case, the Anticipatory Bail application of Sanjay Agarwal had also been rejected by the Calcutta High Court earlier this month.

Sanjay Agarwal is involved in smuggling and diversion of duty-free gold, imported through the nominated agencies like MMTC and Diamond India Limited. Such imported gold was originally meant for export purposes. The smuggled gold was diverted by Sanjay Agarwal along with his associates in the domestic territory and sold illegally to generate proceeds of crime which were then laundered and projected as untainted property and used for purchasing immovable properties in the name of others.

The case was initiated on the basis of investigations conducted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) under Sections 132 and 135 of the Customs Act, 1962.The ED had earlier arrested Preet Kumar Agarwal in the case and filed Prosecution Complaint before the Special Court (PMLA), Calcutta.

ED has also attached gold weighing more than 54 Kgs along with three immovable properties totalling to more than Rs. 25.25 crore at the time of attachment. Bank account balances amounting to more than Rs. 56 lakh have also been frozen and taken possession of under the provisions of PMLA, 2002.

Further investigation is in progress. (ANI)