Hyderabad: ED attaches assets worth crores in PMLA probe against 'illegal' Internet pharmacy

New Delhi, Feb 26 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate Wednesday said it has attached land parcels in Madhya Pradesh and bank deposits worth about Rs 8 crore as part of a probe into a drugs trafficking-linked money laundering case against a Hyderabad-based entity that ran an "illegal" Internet pharmacy.

An order has been issued by the Hyderabad ED office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to provisionally attach the properties of JR Infinity Private Ltd., its promoter Aashish Jain and his family members, the federal probe agency said in a statement.

The ED investigation stems from a May 2022 complaint filed against the accused by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

According to the agency, Jain was running an "illegal" Internet pharmacy from the premises of J R Infinity Private Limited and was exporting psychotropic substances such as Alprazolam, Zolpidem, Lorazepam, Clonazepam, Hydrocodone and Oxycodone in tablet form.

He did so in the guise of providing telemarketing call centre services and 'search engine optimisation' services, the ED claimed.

The accused or his family could not be contacted immediately for their response to the allegations made against them by the ED.

Jain incorporated JR Infinity Pvt. Ltd. for illegally exporting psychotropic substances such as Alprazolam, Tramadol, Diazepam etc. to overseas customers in violation of the provisions of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and thereby acquired "proceeds of crime", the ED alleged.

Investigation found that even prior to incorporation of the said company, Jain and his family members received foreign remittances of Rs 4.50 crore in their personal bank accounts without any genuine business and against the "illegal sale" of drugs abroad, it said.

The total proceeds of crime identified in the case is Rs 12.76 crore, according to the ED.

The agency found that these funds were "utilised" for the creation of fixed deposits and the purchase of several immovable properties in the name of Aashish Jain and his family members.

The attached properties are in the form of land parcels in the name of Jain and his family members located at Indore in Madhya Pradesh (valued at Rs 6.52 crore) apart from bank balance and fixed deposits valued at Rs 1.46 crore, the statement said.

The total value of these assets is Rs 7.98 crore. PTI NES NSD NSD

Source: PTI