Following the detention of a major hawala operator at Chennai airport, officers of the Income Tax Department have purportedly uncovered a conspiracy by a “prominent political party” to bring Rs 200 crore through hawala transactions for distribution during the Lok Sabha election.
As reported by The Hindu, Vinoth Kumar Joseph, an Indian national, was intercepted on Sunday (7th April) at Chennai International Airport after being deported from Malaysia. Reports say that during the probe the officials found that Joseph was part of a huge Hawala network that operates from Dubai and Malaysia to move illicit funds from Dubai to India.
The Income Tax Department officials also confiscated a mobile phone, iPad, and laptop from Joseph and recorded Joseph’s statement.
According to authorities in the IT Department, “It has been found through WhatsApp conversations on his mobile phone that he was planning to bring money from Dubai to Chennai through hawala for a prominent Tamil Nadu-based political party.”
According to Vinoth Kumar Joseph’s recent WhatsApp chats with a Dubai-based person by the name of Selvam, Rs 200 crore was supposed to be sent from Dubai in connection to the parliamentary elections.
Reportedly, a person named Appu, also known as Vinayagavelan, was a close associate of Joseph. Appu aka Vinayagavelan is reportedly involved in the election campaign for a well-known politician.
The other people or organisations who appeared to be involved in helping the hawala transactions are Monika Virola based in Dubai, Al Manar Diamonds, and Suresh based in Malaysia. Further investigation into the matter is underway. The IT officials, reports say, have not ruled out the possibility of the Enforcement Directorate joining the probe.