The Enforcement Directorate (Kolkata Bureau) has attached immovable properties worth Rs 30 crore under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) from M/s TM Traders & M/s KK Traders (TP Global FX.The properties attached included 60 hotel rooms and vacant land located at Seven Hills Pamban Island Resort, Rameswaram.
The attachment happened after the federal agency began a probe based on an FIR registered by Kolkata Police under various sections of IPC, 1860 against M/s T M Traders and M/s K K Traders, the ED said in a statement.
As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the website TP Global FX is neither registered with the RBI nor does it have any authorisation from the RBI for forex trading.The RBI has also issued an alert list, including the name of TP Global FX, on September 7, 2022, for alleged unauthorised trading platforms.
The ED's investigation revealed that a "sophisticated deception was orchestrated by individuals viz. Prasenjit Das, Tushar Patel, and Shailesh Kumar Pandey utilized numerous dummy companies to entice investors into a fraudulent scheme promising high returns on forex trading investments through TP Global FX."Additionally, the Directors and Promoters of IX Global, namely Viraj Suhas Patil and Joseph Martinez, actively promoted TP Global FX as their preferred brokers", the ED said in a statement.
The probe also revealed that the funds generated from the investors were diverted to procure personal assets in the name of Tushar Patel and his associates."This was accomplished through complex methods, including funneling money through dummy accounts and engaging the services of Full Fledged Money Changers (FFMC)." the statement said.
They also had arrested Shailesh Kumar Pandey, Prasenjit Das, and Viraj Suhas Patil, and seized/frozen/attached assets worth Rs 270 crore (approx.), including cash, real estate, hospitality establishments, office spaces, land, vehicles, crypto currencies, and bank balances.Two prosecution complaints have already been filed against the arrested accused persons before a special court (PMLA), Calcutta, which has taken cognizance of the offence of money laundering.(UNI)
