ED seizes Rs 7 cr of Delhi jewellers in Panama Papers case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has seized Rs 7 crore of Delhi-based Mehrasons Jewellers in connection with its probe into the foreign exchange violations revealed in the Panama Papers leak case. [caption id=“attachment_2885364” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The ED in an official statement said it has seized Rs 7 crore lying in various bank accounts in India related to A.K. Mehra, Deepak Mehra, Shailini Mehra and Naveen Mehra of Mehrasons Jewellers of Delhi, which was its first seizure under Section 37 A of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. The ED investigation revealed that huge amounts were sent out of India by the four accused by mis-utilizing the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) of the Reserve Bank of India in the garb of making investments abroad. “The amount remitted outside India was given as interest-free loan in individual capacity by the said persons to two companies in the Bahamas and British Virgin Islands and later, transferred to a company in the United Arab Emirates, which is owned by one of said persons,” the agency said. The agency also claimed that around Rs 10.54 crore was still illegally parked outside India by the said persons.