Kochi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has found that accused in the drug and gold smuggling cases had laundered crores of rupees under the cover of UAFX Solutions, which operates as part of the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.
Abdul Latif and Arun Varghese, managing partners of UAFX Solutions, which is a foreign exchange firm, will be questioned in detail by the ED's Kochi and Bengaluru units. It was as part of this investigation that the agency conducted searches at the houses and companies of the two in Thiruvananthapuram. Central agencies have found evidence of their dealings with Bineesh Kodiyeri, who was arrested in the Bengaluru drugs case.
The investigation team has concluded that it was Bineesh who helped UAFX to get the contract job at the consulate. UAFX was tasked with collecting the visa stamping fee from travellers from the five south Indian states planning a trip to the UAE.
Investigative agencies had questioned Praveen, an official at UAFX, who had helped Swapna Suresh and Khalid Ali Shoukri, the head of the finance department at the consulate, to convert black money obtained through fraudulent commission transactions into foreign currency.
Abdul Latif carried out huge foreign currency transactions using a clothing store in Thiruvananthapuram as a front and with the help of Praveen. Realising this, Khalid Ali Shoukri also sought Praveen's help to convert the Indian rupees that he had obtained through illicit transactions into US dollars.
Consulate official Khalid got Rs 1.44 crore in commission
UAFX had to do legal transactions worth Rs 6 to 10 lakh a month for the UAE consulate in the form of visa stamping. But central agencies have found that it had made foreign currency transactions worth crores.
It paid a commission of Rs 1.44 crore to Khalid to get the visa stamping contract from the consulate. Out of that, Khalid gave Rs 24.50 lakh to Swapna.
The ED started looking into the financial transactions of UAFX after Swapna and others, in their statements, said that the firm had paid a huge commission of Rs 1.44 crore for a business that would have a turnover of just Rs 10 lakh per month.
