Taking the first action in the Panama Papers case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday seized assets worth Rs 10.35 crore ($1.6 million) in the form of mutual funds of Whitefield Chemtec Pvt Limited, controlled by businessman Chirayu Amin and his family.
“The name of Amin and his family members had figured in the Panama Papers case with respect to their stakes or interests in Whitefield Global Investments Limited, in the British Virgin Islands,” said the ED, which carried out the attachment under Section 37A of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
The agency said that during the investigations, it was found that Amin and his family members — through their Indian company Whitefield Chemtech — had invested $1.6 million for purchase of a three-bedroom apartment at Campden Hill in the United Kingdom.
“For purchase of this property in the UK, Whitefield Chemtech Pvt Ltd transferred an amount of $2.4 million to its subsidiary in Singapore, in the form of Overseas Direct Investment. This amount was further transferred to its step-down subsidiaries in the United Arab Emirates and the British Virgin Islands, from where $1.6 million were used for purchase of this property,” the ED said.
Chirayu Amin is the chairman and managing director of Vadodara-based Alembic Pharmaceuticals. The Panama Papers listed Amin and his family members — Malika Amin, Pranav Amin, Shaunak Amin and Udit Amin — as beneficiaries of Whitefield Global Investments Ltd, a company that was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands on October 1, 2015.