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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted searches at seven locations in Delhi and Kolkata as part of a money laundering investigation involving alleged illegal overseas transfers disguised as payments for software imports.
Investigators found that approximately ₹569.03 crore was transferred to foreign companies using suspected forged invoices, although no corresponding software was imported. The agency estimates the wider proceeds of crime at around ₹1,500 crore.
How Did the Investigation Begin?
The ED’s Visakhapatnam Sub-Zonal Office conducted the searches under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The investigation originated from an FIR registered at MVP Police Station in Visakhapatnam on May 11, 2017, following a complaint from the Income Tax Department against Vaddi Mahesh and others.
The accused allegedly conspired to create forged documents and use them to make overseas remittances through multiple banks.
How Were ₹569.03 Crore Transferred Abroad?
Investigators found that Mahesh, his father and their associates allegedly established several companies with registered offices in Kolkata.
Bank accounts opened in these companies’ names were used to transfer ₹569.03 crore to five entities in Singapore, Hong Kong and China.
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The payments were presented as purchases of customised software. However, the ED alleged that fabricated invoices were submitted to banks and no software was imported against these transactions.
What Did the Money Trail Reveal?
The investigation identified Bhimendra Kumar Goyal, who allegedly used the financial network to transfer money generated from smuggled goods.
Investigators said Mahesh received funds through suspected shell-company accounts between 2014 and 2017 and transferred them overseas on Goyal’s instructions.
The money was allegedly routed through dormant or newly incorporated foreign companies before reaching accounts associated with Goyal and his family members.
Were Other Companies Involved?
The ED also identified suspected fictitious firms operating under false identities and addresses in Delhi.
Investigators alleged that funds were moved through multiple business entities, including overseas companies, to conceal their origins.
Part of the money was reportedly diverted through additional trading businesses before reaching recipients abroad. The ED has provisionally estimated the suspected proceeds of crime at approximately ₹1,500 crore.
What Did the ED Seize?
During the searches, officials recovered ₹8.47 lakh in unaccounted cash and foreign currency, including US dollars, UAE dirhams and Chinese yuan. The agency also seized documents, property records and digital devices suspected to contain evidence of financial transactions.
What Happens Next?
Investigators are examining the seized material to establish how funds were transferred through shell companies and whether the transactions involved further money laundering.
The ED said the investigation remains underway.
