Chennai, Feb 18 (IANS): A CBI Special court in Chennai on Friday sentenced a man to four years of rigorous imprisonment in connection with a Rs 34.99 crore money laundering case.

The court also directed Haroon Rasheed to pay an amount of Rs 6 lakh as fine, failing which, he will have to undergo two more months of rigorous imprisonment.

Rasheed was arrested on March 21, 2018, for laundering Rs 5.41 crore under two fake names through four current accounts maintained with different banks between February 12, 2014 and November 29, 2014. The CBI, in its charge sheet, said that using these accounts, he transferred Rs 34.99 crore to various foreign countries which was pure money laundering.

He projected the amount as permissible merchandise import payments without making corresponding imports into the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA). The CBI charged that he was using forged identity documents and import documents like bills of entry as genuine documents.

During the investigation, the probe agency also found Rasheed to be a part of a gang that operated with complete anonymity in the matter of sending the proceeds of the crime under the guise of permissible merchandise imports. He was doing so without making corresponding imports into the DTA by using forged import documents.

This was the third conviction in Tamil Nadu in a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002. Of the 10 cases of PMLA that were given punishment in the country, the state accounts for three.

CBI special team led by investigating officer, M. Raja Sekhar, and Joint Director, P. Manikkavel conducted the probe in all three cases and got the accused convicted.