- ED attaches properties worth ₹24.95 crore of Hero MotoCorp chairman Pawan Munjal in Delhi
- On August 1, ED conducted “search operations” at the premises of Pawan Munjal and other officials and seized valuables worth ₹25 crore.
- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached the properties of Pawan Munjal, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
- The ED initiated the investigation on the basis of a prosecution complaint filed by the directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) under section 135 of the Customs Act, 1962 against Munjal and others
- “The prosecution complaint alleges that Foreign Currency/ Foreign Exchange equivalent to Rs. 54 Crore was illegally taken out of India,” it said.
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached assets worth Rs 24.95 crore of Hero MotoCorp executive chairperson Pawan Kant Munjal as part of a money laundering investigation against him.
Three immovable properties of Munjal located in Delhi have been provisionally attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the central agency said in a statement. Munjal, it said, is the CMD and Chairman of Hero MotoCorp Ltd and the assets are worth about Rs 24.95 crore.
The ED initiated the investigation on the basis of a prosecution complaint filed by the directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) under section 135 of the Customs Act, 1962 against Munjal and others for taking foreign exchange currency out of India illegally, the probe agency said in a statement.
The ED also said the investigation revealed that “Munjal got issued foreign exchange/ foreign currency in the name of other persons and thereafter utilized the same for his personal expenditure abroad”.
“The foreign currency/ foreign exchange was drawn from authorized dealers by an event management company in the name of various employees and thereafter handed over to Pawan Kant Munjal’s relationship manager. The relationship manager carried such foreign currency/ foreign exchange in cash/ card secretly, for the personal expenditure of Pawan Kant Munjal during his personal/ business trips. The modus was adopted to override the limits of USD 2.5 Lakh per annum per person under the Liberalized Remittance Scheme,” the central probe agency further explained.
In March 2022, the income tax department conducted searches on the offices of Hero Motorcorp over alleged tax evasion. The department had also conducted searches at Munjal’s residence.
The DRI prosecution complaint was filed on charges of “carrying, attempting to export and illicit export of prohibited items, i.e., foreign currency” against PK Munjal, a third-party service provider company called Salt Experience and Management Pvt. Ltd. (SEMPL), and individuals identified as Amit Bali, Hemant Dahiya, KR Raman and some others.
(With inputs from agencies)
