₹941-cr scam: Six Chennai jewellers on the DRI radar

THE Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and Chennai Customs have unearthed a ₹941-crore scam, in which six jewellers from Chennai had allegedly diverted around 2,170 kg of gold under the pretext of exporting gold jewellery to Dubai and Malaysia between 2020 and 2022.

- SIDDHARTH PRABHAKAR

Having registered as exporters, the jewellers procured thousands of kilogrammes of imported duty-free gold bars from RBI nominated agencies, such as banks and government bodies, under the agreement that they would be used for manufacturing gold jewellery for export.

However, only 10% of the gold was used to manufacture jewellery and the rest was diverted into the open market by allegedly selling it in black.

Chennai Air Cargo Complex principal customs commissioner M Mathew Jolly, in his two detailed investigation reports in January 2023 and September 2024, alleged that the manufactured gold jewellery was misdeclared as 22 carat and exported with the collusion of a group of customs officers, who had accepted huge bribes for clearance.