Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth ₹118.27 crore belonging to Prasenjit Das, Shailesh Pandey, Tushar Patel, and their companies in the case of illegal forex trading by TP Global FX.
The ED issued attachment orders Wednesday under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
Shares, mutual funds, bonds, AIF/PMS, cash lying in bank accounts, luxury vehicles (MG Hector), flats, commercial business places, hotels, and resorts have together been valued by the ED at ₹118.27 crore. An amount of ₹121.02 crore was frozen by the agency under the PMLA after carrying out searches at 180 bank accounts, the ED stated.
“ED investigation has revealed that Prasenjit Das, Shailesh Kumar Pandey, Tushar Patel and other persons through various dummy companies/firms/entities controlled and managed by them, defrauded the public under the guise of making investments in forex trading by using the platform/website of TP Global FX,” the agency stated in a statement.
Fund usage
After collecting a substantial amount, the funds were layered and transferred to companies/entities in which accused persons/dummy persons were the director/proprietors without the knowledge/information of the gullible investors, the ED charged.
Subsequently, such funds were used in purchase of movable/immovable properties for personal gains and benefits of accused persons, the agency pointed out.
Das and Pandey were arrested by the ED and both of them are presently under judicial custody.
ED took up the case from Kolkota police which had FIR registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code against M/s TM Traders and M/s KK Traders.
The RBI has also issued an alert list including the name of TP Global FX vide a press release released on September 7, 2022, to caution the general public against unauthorised trading platforms.
This March, the government informed the Parliament that about ₹1.11 lakh-crore worth assets have been seized in the last six years by agencies probing economic offences.