80 kg of silver and 15 kg of gold jewellery were also found in the raids, officials said
Highlights
- 80 kg of silver, 15 kg of gold jewellery were also found in the raids
- Raids conducted at the office, residence of owners of Shri Lal Mahal Ltd
- Two persons who were detained are being questioned: Sources
430 kg of gold, worth around Rs 120 crore, was diverted illegally by a company in Delhi to convert old notes, raids by revenue official have found. Rs 2.48 crore in old notes, Rs 12 lakh in new notes, 80 kg of silver and 15 kg of gold jewellery were also found in the raids in Delhi and Noida, they said.
Officials of the DRI or Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Lucknow said they conducted searches at the office and residential premises of the owners of Shri Lal Mahal Ltd, a commodities trading company, on Thursday and Friday based on intelligence inputs.
The gold had been diverted illegally after being imported under special economic regulations that made it duty free, officials said.
The officials have also found records of a huge amount of money transferred to another firm operating from the same offices through online wire transfer in a bid to convert currency scrapped by the government last month.
This was meant to purchase gold coins or bars from the state-run Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation, they said. Officials of the raided firm had allegedly intended to sell this gold in the market in return of scrapped currency.
430 kg of gold worth around Rs 120 crore were found in the raids
The directors of the firm have been avoiding questioning citing health and other reasons, sources said. Two persons who were detained are being questioned, they said.
There have been almost daily hauls of cash and assets during raids in the past few weeks, amid a massive cash crunch after the government banned Rs 500 and 1,000 notes on November 8 to combat corruption and tax evasion.