ED probe reveals use of ₹5 notes as 'identifiers'

THE ACCUSED USED ₹5 NOTES, WHICH ARE BARELY SEEN THESE DAYS, AS 'TOKEN' FOR HAWALA TRANSACTIONS

- Abhishek Sharan

Abhishek Sharan [e-mail] MUMBAI: The money-laundering investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into suspicious transactions worth around ₹196 crore in the Nashik Merchant Cooperative (NAMCO) Bank and the Bank of Maharashtra, both in Malegaon, has revealed that the accused used five-rupee currency notes, which are barely seen these days, as a 'token' or identifier for hawala transactions.

Agency officials said they had recovered hundreds of five-rupee notes from the Surat residence of B Vali Mohamed, one of the accused in the case. The probe also revealed that the accused persons allegedly used a WhatsApp group to coordinate their activities effectively. The ED suspects that a group of 19 to 20 individual bank accounts is being used for parking funds for further withdrawals, and it is currently focusing on establishing the identities of the end users of such funds, their accomplices and at least six hawala operators.

A case was first registered on November 7 at the Malegaon Chawani Police Station in Nashik on the depositing of an estimated ₹100 crore-plus in the 14 newly opened accounts in NAMCO Bank. The case was against one S Ahmed and his accomplices who allegedly used the identity documents of various persons, obtained with false promises or paying money. The ED's probe revealed that five similar accounts were also maintained with the Bank of Maharashtra.