Customs Cartel Case: Benami Accounts, New Transactions Under CBI Scanner

Mumbai: In the case of clearing goods without duty at JNCH, Nhava Sheva, the CBI is probing benami accounts used for parking bribe money. As first reported by the Free Press Journal, the agency arrested Deputy Commissioners (DCs) of Customs Dinesh Fuldiya and Subhash Chandra for allegedly running a cartel while being posted at the unaccompanied baggage centre (UB centre) of JNCH. 

As per the agency’s probe, the DCs received the bribes in the accounts of private persons, including one Sudhir Padekar, and used it to pay dairy product bills, buy household goods, and make hotel and flight bookings.

2 blank cheques also recovered

From the Kharghar residence of Fuldiya, the CBI has recovered several articles including a washing machine and shoes bought with this money. These articles are crime proceeds and purchased by a relative of Padekar for Fuldiya.

Agency officials said that from Chandra’s residence, two blank cheques were recovered. He, too, was using benami accounts to make purchases. The alleged bribe money was transferred into these accounts through bank accounts of Padekar. A few hawala transactions have been identified during the investigation, the CBI said. These transactions were made on behalf of Chandra and require interstate investigation, it said. The receivers of bribe money in the form of bank transfers and sent through hawala to Chandra are yet to be ascertained.

Hawala operators yet to be identified and examined

A CBI source said there are several receivers whose accounts were used to transfer the money. “Some new transactions of Chandra with the co-accused private persons have been revealed. Chandra is being interrogated to ascertain the details of the transactions. Hawala operators are yet to be identified and examined. The investigation on the possibility of a larger conspiracy is still underway,” the source said.

The CBI had alleged that Fuldiya and Chandra had entered into a criminal conspiracy with Padekar and one Kamdar for importing dutiable goods under the transfer of residence facility that permits people who have stayed abroad for two years or more to bring in used personal and household articles duty-free with some conditions.