ED files charge sheet against bizmen in ₹8.09 cr undisclosed foreign assets case

MUMBAI: The Mumbai unit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has submitted its charge sheet against businessmen Sidharth Chokshi and Abhay Chokshi, who allegedly held undisclosed foreign income and assets worth ₹8.09 crore that were considered as proceeds of crime, as part of its money-laundering investigation.

ED’s case is based on an earlier Income Tax (I-T) department ‘s charge sheet against the accused under the provisions of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015. The I-T department’s charge sheet was earlier submitted before the additional metropolitan magistrate, Mumbai.

ED’s investigation revealed that both the accused were the beneficial owners of an offshore entity, Blue Mist International Inc., which was registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and had a bank account in Singapore, according to agency sources. The investigation also revealed that Blue Mist, BVI, had allegedly entered into a ‘sale and purchase agreement’ with another entity, identified as HKCL Investments Pte Ltd, for the purchase of a property in Singapore.

ED’s investigation further found that both the accused allegedly held undisclosed foreign income and assets amounting to a total of ₹8.09 crore, which has been considered as Proceeds of Crime (POC) in the case, an ED official said.

Earlier, in January, ED had issued a provisional attachment order in the case. As the POC in the case are outside India, properties of the equivalent value in India, amounting to around ₹8.09 crore, owned by the duo, was therefore provisionally attached by the ED under the provisions of the PMLA Act. The provisionally attached assets included movable assets in the form of tax-free bonds and immovable assets in the form of land located in Pune.

A special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) Act court recently took cognisance of the charge sheet and issued ‘process’ against the accused. When a court finds sufficient grounds to proceed against an accused, it issues a process, which can be a summons or a warrant.