CHENNAI: In the third conviction in Tamil Nadu under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the XII Additional Special Court for the Central Bureau of Investigation has sentenced a man to undergo rigorous imprisonment for four years for siphoning off Rs 34.94 crore to other countries.
It is learnt that there have been 10 to 11 convictions under PMLA in the country of which three happened in Tamil Nadu. The investigation of all three cases in Tamil Nadu were carried out by a team led by investigating officer M Raja Sekar and joint director P Manikkavel.
The court also asked AAS Haroon Rasheed to pay a fine of Rs 6 lakh and on default, undergo rigorous imprisonment for two additional months. Rasheed was arrested on March 21, 2018 for laundering money under two different assumed names through four current accounts maintained with different banks between February 12, 2014 to November 29, 2014, which resulted in sending proceeds worth $5,785,144 (equivalent to Rs 34.94 crore) to other countries.
He projected the amount as if it were payment for permissible merchandise imports, without making corresponding imports into the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA), by using forged identity documents and import documents i.e., bills of entry, as genuine. The case had cross-border implications and therefore, the Special Court, High Court as well as Supreme Court, consistently took the stand not to grant bail to the accused considering the seriousness of its implications to the financial system.
Rasheed is allegedly part of a gang operating with complete anonymity in the matter of sending the proceeds of crime under the guise of permissible merchandise imports, without making corresponding imports into the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA), by using forged import documents.