Mumbai: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Kolkata Zonal Office, conducted search operations during the weekend at various locations in Mumbai, Bangalore, Jalandhar, Indore and Kolkata linked to TP Global FX and IX Global under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) seizing foreign currencies in the form of USD, Singapore Dollar, Dirham etc. to the tune of around Rs 6,42,973, Gold bullion worth Rs 55,74,667 and bank balances to the tune of Rs 94 lakh, property documents and several digital devices.
The federal anti money laundering agency had initiated investigation on the basis of FIR registered by Kolkata Police, Maharashtra Police and Gujarat Police against M/s T M Traders, M/s K K Traders, TP Global FX and others without registration with the Reserve Bank of India and authorization for forex trading.
According to senior ED officials, the RBI had issued an Alert List including the name of TP Global FX to caution general public against unauthorized trading platforms.
The ED probe unravelled an alleged deception racket orchestrated by prime accused Prasenjit Das and Tushar Patel utilizing numerous dummy companies to entice investors into a fraudulent scheme promising high returns on forex trading investments through TP Global FX.
The investigation further revealed directors and promoters of IX Global, namely Viraj Suhas Patil and Joseph Martinez, actively promoted TP Global FX as their preferred brokers. “Members and users of IX Global employed TP Global FX brokerage services for their forex trading activities,” confirmed a senior ED official.
Multiple FIRs have been registered in several states against TP Global FX/ IX Global/ IX Academy Pvt/ different influencers/ promoters of IX Global including Viraj Suhas Patil, Tushar Patel and Joseph Martinez luring general public in the guise of higher return on the investment in forex trading of TP Global FX/ IX Global platforms.
Earlier ED had arrested Shailesh Kumar Pandey, Prasenjit Das and Viraj Suhas Patil and attached assets worth Rs 270 Crore including cash, gold, real estate, hospitality establishments, office spaces, agricultural land, vehicles, crypto currencies and bank balances.
The ED has also filed two Prosecution Complaints against the arrested accused persons for offence of money laundering.
