BENGALURU: Amiid the unabated tensions between India and China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, Indian agencies have unearthed an embedded espionage network of Chinese nationals, who are reportedly using hawala networks to send money to some Tibetan monks through their families in Tibet in return for sensitive information about the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Chinese national Luo Sang alias Charlie Peng, who was arrested on September 13 by the Delhi Special Police on charges of espionage, had reportedly cultivated ‘assets’ right from Delhi to Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, which have the largest Tibetan settlements in the country.
McLeodganj near Dharamshala in HP is the headquarters of Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), where the Dalai Lama also resides. Luo was running an over Rs 1,000 crore hawala operation through shell companies and 40 bank accounts at the behest of the Chinese external intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security (MSS). The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), which has booked Luo under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), has reportedly tracked the money trail from his shell companies to Delhi, HP and Karnataka, highly placed sources told this newspaper.
“One of the reasons why the MSS used the hawala route to help Luo allegedly infiltrate Tibetan settlements in the country is because there are no banking channels or financial services between India and Tibet,” said the source. “Some families in Tibet have traditionally been sending money to their kin in India, who are studying Tibetan Buddhism to become monks, so as to help them with the rituals which are required to be conducted to complete their graduation.
In the absence of any legitimate banking channel, hawala is the only route through which money is sent from Tibet to India,” said the source. Hawala is illegal in India because it operates outside the conventional banking system. A multi-agency team of officials from the ED, Intelligence Bureau, Income Tax Department and the Karnataka police have visited the monasteries in Bylakuppe and Mundgod in Karnataka and have questioned some monks and local residents in this regard.
Tibetan body for thorough investigation
In HP, the police detained a Chinese woman, Lan Hoo, and another person, Sonu Bangtoo, who were “regularly tracking the movements of the Dalai Lama and passing on the information to Luo Sang. They purportedly have got money in lieu of the information,” Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had earlier told media persons.“One person, who was also on the radar of the HP police in this connection had left for Karnataka before we could detain him,” said a top police source. Lan Hoo is married to a German national, said the source. The HP police have further tightened the Dalai Lama’s security.
A permanent resident of Cheng Guan Ju in Tibet’s Lhasa, Luo had created a fake Indian identity in the name of Charlie Peng through forged Aadhaar cards and documents. He was earlier arrested by Delhi Police on charges of espionage in 2018, but was later released for want of evidence. “It could have been a strategic move by the police to keep a watch on Luo and catch him with greater evidence for espionage,” the source added.
Meanwhile, the CTA, which has been taken by surprise regarding the Chinese spy network, has said that there should be a “thorough investigation by the Indian agencies to bring out the truth.” “We will co-operate with the Indian agencies,” said Chophel Thupten, the Chief Representative, South Zone, CTA. Thupten refused to speak further on the matter.