TELSTAR TRAVELS PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. SPECIAL DIRECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) All the aforesaid appeals impugned a common judgment and order dated 28.11.2007 passed by the Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange, New Delhi in four separate appeals filed by the four appellants before us. By the impugned judgment and order, the Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange, partly allowed the appeals and modified an adjudication order dated 12.3.2001 passed by the Dy. Director, Directorate of Enforcement, Mumbai. By his order dated 12.3.2001 the Dy. Director, Directorate of Enforcement, Mumbai had found that the appellants had contravened the provisions of Sections 14 & 8 (1) of the Foreign Exchange Regulations Act 1973. On such finding, he had imposed the following penalties :-

(2.) We have heard both the sides and perused the record. The relevant facts which gave rise to the adjudication were as follows :-

(3.) We have perused the entire record. We find that there is a concurrent findings of fact to the effect that the Geneva bank account standing in the name of Bountiful Ltd., was being operated on the directions of one of the appellant Mr.Rajesh Desai acting on behalf of M/s.Telstar. This finding of fact is based upon voluminous material collected at the stage of investigation. While arriving at the finding of guilt, reliance was placed on the statements of Mr.Arun Desai dated 24.8.1995, 25.8.1995 and 6.2.1996. These statements were obtained mainly to seek an explanation in relation to the documents seized vide panchanama dated 14.4.1995. Reliance was also placed on the statements of the appellant Rajesh Desai recorded on 24.8.1995 and 25.8.1995. The statement of Sujeet Desai was also recorded on 24.8.1995 and 25.8.1995. Out of the aforesaid statements, the statement made by Arun Desai was not retracted till the stage of giving the reply to the Show Cause Notice. It is the concurrent findings of the two lower authorities that these statements were not obtained under coercion. These statements recorded under Section 40 of FERA confirmed the correctness of the departments allegation. It is also the finding that these statements stood corroborated by other evidence such as statement of Ms.Anita Chotrani, Travel Coordinator of one of the Indian agent of foreign shipping company and the statement of Mr.Deepak Raut, Director of M/s.Arvan Shipping Private Limited which was also an Indian agent of an overseas shipping company. The other materials, held to be corraborative are documents seized from the office of M/s.Telstar and the residential premises of its Managing Director Shri Arun Desai in the course of a search under Section 37 of FERA. Indian currency of Rs.7,46,000/- was also seized in the course of this search. The Appellate Tribunal has observed that amongst the documents seized, were the invoices of Bountiful Ltd., which contained directions of M/s.Telstar to credit the amount of bill to account no.10975 of M/s.Bountiful Ltd., of Geneva and documents which reveals that several air tickets were also billed in these Bountiful invoices and payments of these tickets have been directed to be credited to the aforesaid Geneva account. The Appellate Tribunal has also placed reliance upon an enquiry report dated 15.1.1997 given by an officer of the Indian High Commission at London reporting on enquiry that Mr.Livinston, Managing Director of Clyde Travels Limited did not know Mr.Shirish Shah.