The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the premises of a former Indian Foreign Service (IFS) official Deepak Vohra, for suspected violations of rules under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). According to ED officials, apart from the residence of Vohra, the agency also conducted searches on the premises of a private firm for suspected violations of foreign exchange rules in the company’s dealings in Africa. Vohra, according to officials, has worked as the CEO of a subsidiary of this company in the past. The agency, which started its raid on Thursday and continued it on Friday and Saturday, is likely to continue it in the coming days, ED officials said. “The searches were conducted at six places in Delhi and Noida and so far we have recovered around 50,000 dollars, 11,000 euros and Rs 37 lakh in cash, besides documents and electronic devices from multiple premises related to the company. Foreign currencies have also been found from the premises of the company’s managing director and other senior functionaries”, an ED official said.
The company in question, Angelique International Limited, undertakes projects in the power, water, irrigation and agriculture sectors as well as industrial projects in international markets of Africa, Middle East, South and South East Asia. It has offices in 32 countries. The company, that has an office in Noida, allegedly concealed certain transactions related to foreign exchange and allegedly obtained a loan from an overseas bank without following procedures. Vohra was helping the company get work contracts for engineering and construction projects through his network built through his long experience of working in Africa. Officials said that the agency was also investigating whether the alleged violations come under the purview of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).