Birfa IT Case Under PMLA: ED Arrests Delhi-Based Importers

The ED on Wednesday has arrested Delhi-based importers Mayank Dang and Tushar Dang in connection with the Birfa IT case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

The two were presented before the Special Court in Dwarka, which remanded them to 3 days of ED custody, until November 28, 2024. The ED will continue to question the duo as part of its investigation into an alleged money laundering network.

The case involves the illegal transfer of foreign remittances worth Rs. 4,817 crore through bogus and forged invoices. These remittances were made as compensatory payments for under-invoiced imports from China and Hong Kong.

According to the ED, the Dang brothers were part of a well-organized syndicate that included Indian importers, cash handlers, international hawala agents, local angandiya firms, Chinese manufacturers, suppliers, and warehouses across major Chinese cities.

The Dang family is alleged to have controlled several foreign entities in collusion with a key Chinese syndicate member known as Mr. King. The investigation revealed that goods imported by the Dang brothers were highly under-invoiced, and the compensatory payments were routed abroad through intermediaries Manideep Mago and Sanjay Sethi.

These payments were disguised as transactions for services like online leases for crypto mining and educational software, although no such services were actually provided.

The investigation also uncovered a complex money laundering operation, where cash was regularly picked up from the offices of the Dang brothers and their clients by employees of Mago and Sethi. This cash was subsequently laundered through various bank accounts before being sent abroad to settle payments with Chinese exporters.

Furthermore, the ED has accused the Dang brothers of attempting to destroy evidence, as they allegedly instructed their employees and clients to destroy or alter digital devices after the investigation began.

The ED’s probe is ongoing, with significant efforts to unravel the full scale of the illicit network.

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