ED arrests woman in Rs 1485 crore money laundering case

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested the owner of a Hong Kong-based company International Rising Kritika Dahal in connection with a money laundering case to the tune of Rs 1478 crore, involving diamond trader Ritesh Jain.

Officials said that she was intercepted at Mumbai airport when she was trying to leave the country on Saturday. The accused was arrested after questioning.

The ED had registered a case against Ritesh Jain of Rajeshwar Exports for allegedly opening bank accounts for shell companies using fictitious names and laundering around Rs 1478 crore. Officials said that Dahal had colluded with Jain for creating shell companies.

“During questioning, Dahal stated that her company had received remittance from Rajeshwar Exports and that her Hong Kong-based company had no employees. After receiving remittance, she supplied diamond jewellery to Jain’s Rajeshwar Exports,” said a statement released issued by ED.

The officials added that Dahal’s company, which was stated to be based in the Hong Kong helped in laundering money.

The officials also found during the investigation that Rajeshwar Exports Pvt Ltd had to pay Rs 1478.85 crore for the imports. Out of this, only one company - International Rising Limited received approximately Rs 990 crore for supplying 220 consignments of diamonds and gold that were overvalued around ten times. During the investigation, the ED identified Dahal as the owner of the Hong Kong-based company.