Hero MotoCorp’s top boss in forex net
Three of his immovable properties have been attached under PMLA
Pawan Kant Munjal, CMD and Chairman of Hero MotoCorp Ltd
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate on Friday alleged that Hero MotoCorp executive chairperson Pawan Kant Munjal used foreign currency issued in the name of others for his personal expenditure abroad to “override” RBI rules and attached his assets worth Rs 24.95 cr as part of a money laundering investigation.
Three immovable properties (in the form of lands) of Munjal located in Delhi have been provisionally attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the central agency said in a statement.
Munjal (69) is also the CMD and Chairman of Hero MotoCorp Ltd, and the assets are worth about Rs 24.95 crore.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said its probe found “Pawan Kant Munjal got issued foreign exchange/foreign currency in the name of other persons and thereafter utilised the same for his personal expenditure abroad.”
It claimed that the foreign currency or foreign exchange was drawn from authorised dealers by an event management company in the name of various employees and thereafter “handed over” to Munjal’s relationship manager.
“The relationship manager carried such foreign currency/foreign exchange in cash/card secretly, for the personal expenditure of Pawan Kant Munjal during his personal/business trips,” the agency said.
“The modus was adopted to override the limits of $2.5 lakh per annum per person under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS),” the ED said. Under the LRS, all resident individuals, including minors, are allowed to freely remit up to $2,50,000 per financial year (April-March) for any permissible current or capital account transaction or a combination of both, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The ED had carried out raids against Munjal and his companies in August after filing a criminal case under the PMLA against him. This money laundering case was filed after taking cognisance of a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) charge-sheet, filed under the Companies Act of 1962, that accused him of taking foreign exchange or currency out of India illegally.
“The prosecution complaint alleges that foreign currency/foreign exchange equivalent to Rs 54 crore was illegally taken out of India,” the ED said.
The Delhi High Court, in an order issued on November 3, stayed proceedings of the DRI, on which the ED case is based.
In an interim order, the high court noted that Munjal has been exonerated by the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal on the same set of facts and this was not disclosed before the trial court and that the petitioner has been able to make out a case for interim protection.
BlurbThe 69-yr-old Pawan Munjal, CMD-Chairman of Hero MotoCorp, has assets worth about Rs 24.95 crore