Five family members are being investigated under the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) for transactions exceeding ₹2,000 crore, official sources said.
“The probe is at an advanced stage and the statements of a few linked to the case have also been recorded. Those under investigation have been asked to join the probe,” said a person familiar with the agency’s findings.
Sources said the probe began after the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published the ‘Pandora Papers’, which revealed alleged overseas beneficiary accounts of several resident Indians in low-tax territories.
Besides the Enforcement Directorate, the income-tax department is also probing the Salgaocar family members under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) Act.
The income-tax department has sent five notices to members of the family, and each of the five members has been asked to pay ₹490 crore in dues, said another official privy to the developments. Members of the Salgaocar family could not be reached for their comment. According to the ‘Pandora Papers’, a now-deceased member of the family had allegedly set up several firms – Crown Bright Trading; General Harvest International; Ling Tao Trading; Nickon Enterprises; Sing Ling Tao Resources; and Horizon Villa Investments – in the tax haven of British Virgin Islands.
