The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in Mumbai is said to have busted a 'banking-hawala' scam, in which reputed public sector banks illegally remitted Rs. 2,240 crore overseas based on forged documentation and declarations of traded goods by exporters and importers.
The funds, generated in connivance with officials of six public sector banks, were a result of duty drawbacks claimed on the basis of inflated export bills and, in most cases, non-existent imports. The actual import value of the goods is said to have been not more than Rs. 60 crore
The fictitious trade circuit was mostly controlled from the one-room office of Stelkon Infratel at Masjid Bunder in south Mumbai, while a chunk of the remittances was made by a PSB's branch on Daryasthan Street at Mandvi, Masjid.
The DRI is said to have finished its probe and is in the process of submitting a report to the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate.