HYDERABAD: The sleuths of Special Operations Team of Bhongir Zone under the Rachakonda Police Commissionerate busted a foreign currency exchange racket and arrested a city-based realtor. Officials also seized currency of various countries, equivalent to over Rs 2.94 crore.
The seized currency was handed over to the Enforcement Directorate for further investigation. The accused Keerthi Kumar Jain was arrested and produced before the court, said Rachakonda police officials.
Based on a tip-off, Keerthi Kumar Jain, a resident of Goshamahal in the city, was nabbed at Vanasthalipuram. He was found with a luggage bag with foreign currency inside it and was travelling to Chennai to exchange the currency with agents there.
Police found that Jain was collecting the currency from unknown foreigners and kept it in his possession to exchange the same when the rates went up. Inquiries revealed that Jain had been indulging in illegal foreign currency exchange racket via brokers on a commission basis and making huge profits.
He has been in this business for the past few years. The realtor collected foreign currency from travellers and exchanged them into Indian currency with the help of brokers.
As illegal transactions are in violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the seized currency was handed over to the Enforcement Directorate, which has initiated action against the accused. They have also launched a probe, said Rachakonda commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat.The seized foreign currency included US Dollars valued at Rs 60,39,085, UAE Dirhams equivalent to Rs 31,32,920, Saudi Riyals at Rs 2,00,78,410 and Euros at Rs 76,850 — totalling to Rs 2,93,27,265.