ED raids six spots in city, seizes over Rs 1.5 cr

New Delhi/Chandigarh, December 7

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out searches at over six places in Chandigarh against hawala traders and seized over Rs 1.5 crore in cash along with several incriminating documents, an official said.

The official said searches were carried out on the premises of Ajay Buddhiraja of Buddhiraja Forex, from where Rs 34 lakh in Indian currency and Rs 14.69 lakh in foreign currency was seized.

He said Rs 60 lakh was seized from Buddhiraja’s residence.

Rs 10.01 lakh was seized from a person who had come to the premises for money transaction after he failed to satisfy the ED team about the same.

The agency also carried out searches at the residence and offices of owner of Talwar Jewellers and seized Rs 20 lakh. Another raid on a businessman Puneet Arora, who owns Beacon Steels, led to a seizure of Rs 14 lakh. The raids come in the wake of a probe by the Enforcement Directorate under the Foreign Exchange Management Act against the hawala operators. — IANS