Tougher embezzlement act gets 3 in net

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had arrested Pradeep Kumar,Harsh Choudhary and Harmesh Arora,along with three others,on October 29. As per the charges,the accused,under the garb of bogus exports,sought duty drawback on their consignments to several foreign countries.

The DRI had alleged that the accused,who ran export firms in Delhi,used to send scrap material but claimed duty drawback on garments worth Rs 20 crore.

Subsequently the ED had also registered a case under Section 3 of the PMLA and approached the court requesting the judge to issue production warrants against the accused.

During the hearing on Wednesday,Investigating Officer Sharad Chaudhary produced the trio before the court as ED prosecutor Matta moved the remand application. The application stated that their sustained custodial interrogation was necessary to find out more about their modus operandi and collect more information about their bank accounts and other financial transaction.

The court accepted the ED plea and allowed their remand till November 7. The other three accused were sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

The PMLA was amended by a notification on June 1 to strengthen the legal framework for anti-money laundering and combat financing of terror.

The PMLA was enacted in 2002 by the NDA government and enforced in 2005 by the previous UPA government. The legislation is meant to prevent money laundering and to provide for attachment,seizure and confiscation of proceeds of crime obtained or derived,directly or indirectly,from money laundering.