ED seizes Rs 3.57 crore unaccounted cash of several tour and travel companies under FEMA

Officials in the central financial probe agency said the searches were conducted at eight different locations in Delhi and Ghaziabad

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said it had seized Rs 3.57 crore unaccounted cash of several tour and travel companies in a search conducted under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in the national capital and adjoining Ghaziabad.
Officials in the central financial probe agency said the searches were conducted at eight different locations in Delhi and Ghaziabad, including residences and offices of directors of many tour and travel companies and their chartered accountants (CAs) on July 9 and seized unaccounted Indian currency along with several incriminating documents and digital records.
“Investigations under FEMA were initiated against various entities on the basis of specific inputs that these were involved in unauthorised receipt of foreign remittances through payment gateways in the name of providing e-visa services to foreigners,” a senior ED official said.
Investigations conducted in the cases so far have revealed that two such entities received foreign remittance of more than Rs 200 crore for processing Indian e-visa applications of foreigners without any authorisation from the Government of India, they said.
The ED officials said these entities were also involved in high value suspicious transactions and the probe also revealed that certain CAs played a key role in managing the affairs of these entities.
They said the seizure amounting to Rs 3.57 crore during the search operations had also created suspicion about the operations of such entities and their blatant violation of the statutory requirements, which are being further investigated.