The Enforcement Directorate confiscates assets worth 10.25 crore in the “Power Bank App” fraud case, during a search operation at the premises of Sagar Diamond Limited, RHC Global Exports Limited, Vaibhav Dipak Shah, and their associates in Surat SEZ.
In the “Power Bank App” fraud case, search operations were carried out by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) at 14 locations. These premises are owned by Sagar Diamond Limited (a BSE listed company), RHC Global Exports Limited (including its director Vaibhav Dipak Shah and his associates), located at diffreent places in Surat Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Ahmedabad, and Mumbai.
Based on a FIR filed by the Delhi Police in the “Power Bank App” fraud case, the ED has conducted investigations under PMLA, wherein thousands of ordinary people (small investors) were duped by the “App” run by Chinese nationals in collusion with their Indian associates, including Vaibhav Dipak Shah and Sagar Diamond Ltd.
According to the findings of the ED search and investigations, the proceeds of crime (PoC) generated by the “Power Bank App” fraud case were routed through Sagar Diamond Ltd. and other parties.
It was also discovered that several of these companies’ Surat SEZ manufacturing units were involved in the exorbitant overvaluation of import/export transactions involving diamonds, gem stones, and other precious metals, as well as the syphoning of funds overseas under the guise of fraudulent imports.
During the investigation, the ED discovered that the stock, which was shown in the books of account as having a value in the thousands of crore rupees, was greatly overvalued and had an actual value of only about 10 crore rupees. This was primarily due to strategies such as presenting insignificantly valued ‘Synthetic ruby’ as a ‘precious gem’ and manipulating its valuation accordingly.
The ED seized a total of 25 lakh rupees in cash. Also, gold, diamonds, and other valuables worth 10 crore rupees, as well as digital devices and documents relating to fraudulent import and export have also been confiscated.
The ED has so far made three arrests in connection with the ‘Power Bank App’ fraud, and a number of non-bailable warrants have been issued for other individuals suspected of involvement.
