Newindpress
Mangalore, Jul 3: When police first laid their hands on wads of currencies it was believed that the huge sum of Rs 39 lakh seized from two men was meant for distribution among voters on the eve of by-election in Ullal, until now.
In a major twist, the simple case of unaccounted money has turned into the region's first ever FEMA case. Exactly a month after the incident, Enforcement Directorate Assistant Director Johnson K George moved a revision petition in Principal and District Sessions court seeking permission to take possession of amount under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) on Monday.
On June 1, the police acting on a tip off arrested the brothers Mohammed Shafi (44), Abdulla (45) travelling from Bangalore to Mangalore and found Rs 39,22,769 tucked inside hand-sewn pockets of the shirt.
The seizure which came on the eve of polling was widely speculated as hawala money for distribution among the electorate.
IT sleuths took custody of the brothers to get to the bottom of the case. During questioning, the brothers hailing from Melaparamu in Kasargod district confessed to having received money indirectly from one Hanif. The money was to be handed over to one Latif in Kasargod who would identify them by their attire.
The brothers had received Rs 750 each to carry money to a vague destination and would have received more if they had been successful. During preliminary investigations IT sleuths frustratingly discovered that due to presence of many carriers, the trail led neither to the source or to beneficiary.
“It worries us a lot that lot of money being invested on immovable properties in city is from unaccounted sources and in violation of all foreign exchange rules," explains IT sources. Enforcement Directorate moved a petition in Puttur JMFC and took custody of accused men.
Principal Prosecutor K K Seetharam, holding a special brief to Enforcement Directorate from Bangalore, said that department filed a case under FEMA after ascertaining that unaccounted money was not routed through proper financial institutions and not involved in offences like extortion.
On Monday Enforcement Directorate filed a revision petition before Principal and District Sessions Judge H M Bharatesh seeking release of money as conditions set by Puttur JMFC clashed with FEMA guidelines.
Puttur JMFC had issued orders that denominations of seized money should be kept intact.
This clashed with one of the guidelines, which empowered ED to deposit confiscated money in a nationalised bank, Seetharam explained and added that the judge while calling for documents had set July 28 as the date for next hearing.