IT Department busts nexus of Chinese Companies operating through Hawala in India; Raids also reveal a fake passport scam involving Chinese citizens

The Income Tax raids at 21 locations in Delhi, Ghaziabad & Gurugram has revealed a massive Hawala operations involving Chinese companies and their representatives. During the raid, the IT sleuths caught hold of one Chinese national who called himself Charlie Pang and had a fake Indian passport. Investigation revealed that his real name was Luo Sang but had secured the fake Indian passport issued from Manipur.

Luo Sang used his fake identity to create 8 to 10 bank accounts in fictitious names in different banks across the country. Luo Sang was representing several Chinese Companies in India for Hawala Operations. Initial reports say that Hawala money transfers of more than Rs. 300 crores were facilitate by this one individual. The overall scam involved more than Rs. 1000 crores say IT officials.

The IT department on behalf of Surabhi Ahluwalia, Commissioner of Income Tax, has issued a official statement on the raids which were conducted on premises of Chinese companies. The statement says that searches were conducted based on the credible information that few Chinese individuals and their Indian associates were involved in money laundering and hawala transactions through series of shell entities. The searches were conducted at various premises of these Chinese entities, their close confederates and couple of bank employees.

The search action revealed that at the behest of Chinese individuals, more than 40 bank accounts were created in various dummy entities, entering into credits of more than Rs. 1000 crores over the period. A subsidiary of Chinese company and its related concerns have taken over Rs. 100 crores bogus advances from shell entities for opening businesses of retail showrooms in India.

Further, the IT dept has revealed that incriminating documents in respect of hawala transactions and laundering of money with active involvement of bank employees and Chartered accountants has been found as a result of it’s search action. Evidences of foreign hawala transactions involving Hongkong and US dollars have also been unearthed said the IT Dept statement. Further investigations are under progress.