The anti-money laundering arm of the Indian government is now busy getting the bunch of documents translated into Arabic.
This was one obstacle that the enforcement directorate (ED) was least expecting in its investigations into the web of deceit and hawala (money laundering) that former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda and his associates had woven.
ED had sent a letter rogatory to Dubai sometime last year. It received a response, but the Dubai government said it would not accept the document in English and Indian authorities should send the document after getting it translated into Arabic.
The anti-money laundering arm of the Indian government is now busy getting the bunch of documents translated into Arabic. “The process is taking time. We had to find a good Arabic translator first. The translation has to be very good and should convey precisely what we want,” a senior ED official told DNA.
A letter rogatory is a formal request from a court in one country to the appropriate judicial authority in another country, requesting testimony or documentary or any other evidence in connection with a registered case.
ED had sent letter rogatories to several countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, Dubai, Singapore and Liberia. “We have got satisfactory responses from all other states except Dubai,” another ED official said.
Dubai is a crucial link in the Koda scam. Key accused Sanjay Choudhary is reported to be hiding in Dubai. He was allegedly handling Koda’s overseas operations. He fled India after ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against him.
India is trying to get Choudhary expatriated and has already moved ahead to cancel his passport.
Investigations have shown that hawala transactions worth over $110 million (approximately Rs550 crore) were sent to Dubai. ED and income tax sleuths have established the identity of one Abdul Bhai of Dubai, who is said to have received these money transfers. The amount was sent through Mumbai-based Balaji Bullion and Retailers. Choudhary is one of the directors on the board of the firm.
Choudhary and another Koda aide, Binod Sinha, own two companies in Dubai: Cam Pech Manufacturing LLC and Blue Techno.
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