Panama Papers: ED Raids Four Locations In Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Seizes Rs 88.30 Lakh

The Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at four locations in Madhya Pradesh and Goa as part of money laundering investigation against Sanjay Vijay Shinde, whose names figured in the "Panama Papers, the agency said on Friday. 

The ED seized Rs 88.30 lakh in cash and "incriminating" documents in raids against Shinde, who had "British Virgin Islands-based offshore entity, in whose Singapore based bank account, more than Rs 31 Crore were deposited by various offshore entities", as per a press release by the agency.

A total of four premises in Bhopal and Goa of Shinde, including that of his former employer VS Dempo Holdings Pvt Ltd in Goa and that of RPM Sonic Adventures and Caravan Resorts at Bhopal, were raided earlier this week, the ED said.

The ED said the money laundering case stems from an Income Tax department chargesheet filed against Shinde earlier under the provisions of the anti-black money law.

Called "Panama Papers", an investigation of a stockpile of records from Panamanian legal firm Mossack Fonseca by the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in 2016 had named several world leaders and celebrities who allegedly stashed away money abroad in offshore companies. Some of them are stated to be holding valid overseas accounts.

There were a total of 426 India-linked cases in those papers.

Shinde is an expert in mining and has worked as an iron ore commission agent and has also been in import-export business of ores, as per reprots. An earlier report in The Free Press Journal said, "IT authorities suspect that Shinde was investing the money received as commission by him in foreign nations to evade taxes. The commission was received mostly in black money."

The FPJ report added that Shinde belongs to MP but shifted to Goa for business purposes.

(With PTI inputs)