HYDERABAD: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday conducted searches at Musaddilal Jewellery and MBS Jewellery showrooms in both Telugu States following allegation of money laundering and FEMA violations. Twenty teams of the agency started searches at the two jewellery outlets early in the morning.
The ED reportedly found several irregularities during searches at both jewellers. Hundreds of crores of worth assets of the two leading jewellers were attached in the past. The agency had found that Musaddilal Jewellers at the time of demonitisation, received Rs 111 crore old currency and issued fake purchase invoices to customers and exchanged new notes from banks.
ED carried searches at Erramanzil and Secunderabad outlets of Musaddilal as well as at the residences of directors of the company. They seized several documents, account books, gold purchase invoices and bank guarantee documents.
Sources from the agency said that Musaddilal took loans from the Indian Overseas Bank and ING Bank and failed to repay after allegedly diverting the money to purposes other than for which they were given. ED also reportedly identified several incriminating documents pertaining to money transactions between sister companies of the jewellers.
The ED teams also conducted searches at MBS Jewellery outlets in AP and Telangana. Earlier, a case was registered against MBS for irregularities in purchases and defrauding MMTC Ltd in gold purchases under the buyer credit scheme. The agency reportedly found irregularities to the tune of ` 504 crore. ED attached ` 363 crore worth of its assets last year.
ED received several complaints against the MBS Jewellery for committing the same offence again. Preliminary inquiry revealed that MBS issued fake invoices against purchasing gold and diverted money to other platforms. ED seized hard disks and account books from MBS.