₹1,000 crore scam may have terror link: Probe

MALEGAON MONEY LAUNDERING | ED identifies network of 250 shell and benami firms across 21 states linked to case

- Ashish Singh

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has unearthed alleged laundering of at least Rs1,000 crore by a syndicate with links to criminal gangs. Indications are that the final amount laundered may be much more.

However, the basic question as to what the source of these huge finds is is still to be answered.

The ED has identified a network of 250 shell and benami firms across 21 states linked to the Malegaon money laundering case. Investigations reveal that, in the initial phase, 201 dummy companies identified were used to park illicit funds, which were then layered through seven to eight stages and funneled via nearly a thousand shell entities. This financial web facilitated the laundering of over Rs1,000 crore into multiple accounts nationwide before the funds were siphoned off overseas, sources said.