Run ends: ED arrests high-profile hawala operator Naresh Jain

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested a high-profile hawala operator, Naresh Jain, who has two Interpol red corner notices pending against him and is wanted in two countries — the UAE and Italy — for drug smuggling and money laundering.
In what could worry many influential people who allegedly constitute Jain's clientele, the ED said it has found details of at least 600 foreign bank accounts, besides hawala dealings and illegal cash transactions of Rs 95,000 crore carried out by him in India.
The agency has also found that he remitted Rs 12,000 crore of black money out of the country, primarily to Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai using his hawala network, for his ‘contacts’.
A senior officer said some of those who regularly feature in ‘rich and powerful’ lists are among those to have availed the services of the hawala operator.
A habitual offender with powerful connections, Jain was issued a showcause notice by the ED in 2016 in a foreign exchange violation case of more than Rs 1,000 crore.
He jumped bail from Dubai where he was arrested for drug and money laundering crimes. Two Interpol red corner notices issued for him from Dubai and Rome were still active, the CBI told the agency. The CBI has been asked to take further action after Jain’s arrest.
Jain has been held guilty by US courts too in related crimes. In 2009, a Southern District Court of New York upheld the forfeiture of assets worth $43,72,653 belonging to him and his accomplices in a money laundering case.
The hawala operator and his associates allegedly set up more than 450 shell companies with dummy directors. The operators kept blank cheque books of the ‘directors’ and obtained their signature on blank letter pads. Scrutiny of bank statements showed that amounts were deposited and withdrawn on the same or next day.