Hawala operator held for Rs 2,252 crore fraud

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested Farooq Shaikh (39), a hawala operator in connection with a money laundering case against Stelkon company and 12 others.

The companies allegedly remitted around Rs 2,252 crore overseas during 2015-16 by submitting non-existent and forged import documents to the banks. Shaikh is suspected to be the kingpin of the alleged trade-based money laundering business from Mumbai. According to ED officials, Shaikh allegedly maintained over 150 bank accounts in Punjab National Bank and others to claiming fake import remittances.

Investigators suspect that Shaikh sent over Rs 5000 crore through hawala. "We have seized 137 bank accounts which he used to carry out the remittance scam. We have also attached his Rs 18 crore bank balance," said an ED official.