ED raids 20 places in Bengaluru, Hosapete, Gurugram in illegal iron ore exports case

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Bangalore Zonal Office, carried out extensive search operations on Thursday at 20 locations across Bengaluru, Hosapete, and Gurugram in connection with the illegal iron ore exports through the Belekeri port in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka.

During the raids, the ED said officials seized incriminating documents and froze proceeds of crime amounting to ₹12.84 crore, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

A sum of ₹42 lakh in cash was also recovered along with documents linked to immovable properties acquired through profits from illegal iron ore trading, according to an ED release.

The Central agency initiated the investigation following multiple FIRs and chargesheets filed by the CBI under directives from the Supreme Court of India in cases of illegal export of iron ore for a quantity exceeding 50,000 tonnes.

Investigation revealed a sophisticated network involving excavators, traders, transporters, and exporters colluding to evade royalty payments and other statutory taxes.

Iron ore was often sourced from dummy or fictitious entities, making the operation a complex money laundering scheme.

Exporters reportedly misrepresented the illegal profits as legitimate business gains to benefit themselves and their key management personnel, according to the ED.

Entities identified as major beneficiaries include MSPL Ltd. (Narendra Kumar Baldota), Greentex Mining Industries Ltd. (Ajay Kharwanda), Srinivasa Minerals Trading Co. (Y. Srinivas Rao), Arshad Exports (Md. Asghar Khan), SVM Nett Project Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (Basavaraj B.,) and Alphine Minmetals India Pvt. Ltd. (Gagan Shukla), as per the release.