The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday registered a money laundering case in connection with the Kerala Gold Smuggling Scam.
The ED registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) (FIR in police parlance) taking cognisance of the NIA's FIR relating to the probe into criminal aspects of the scam, officials said.
The ED case has been booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the agency will soon record the statements of the arrested accused, they said.
The ED will probe if “proceeds of crime” were generated by the accused persons by laundering of funds that were earned in an illicit manner through the alleged gold smuggling racket.
The ED has authority to attach the immovable and movable assets of the accused persons under the PMLA.
The Kerala Gold Smuggling Case was unearthed on July 5 when gold, weighing over 30 kg, was seized by the Customs (Preventive) Commisonerate, Cochin from the “diplomatic baggage” that had landed by air cargo at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport from the Gulf. The seized gold is estimated to be worth Rs 14.82 crore.