ED seizes Rs 82 crore gold from Hyderabad jeweller

The Enforcement Directorate confiscated 145.89 kg of gold (worth Rs 82.11 crore) from jeweller Kailash Gupta's premises in Hyderabad and Vijayawada on Thursday.

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday announced seizure of 145.89 kg of gold (worth Rs 82.11 crore) from a Hyderabad-based jeweller in a money laundering case.

The ED searched jeweller Kailash Gupta's premises in Hyderabad and Vijayawada in a case registered against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, it said in a release.

The Income Tax Department had registered an FIR with the Telangana Police against Gupta, his sons and their ventures -- M/s Musaddilal Gems and Jewellery, M/s Musaddilal Jewellers Pvt Ltd and M/s Vaishnavi Bullion Ltd -- for allegedly conspiring with bullion dealers, chartered accountants and relatives.

During the demonetisation process, huge amounts of banned cash was deposited in their bank accounts, the I-T complaint said. The Musaddilal Jewellers allegedly made Rs 110 crore transactions during the demonetisation.

During investigations, the ED found that Musaddilal Jewellers had created fake invoices in the names of 5,200 people on the day of demonetisation (8 November 2016).