VIRAJ SUHAS PATIL Vs. ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The genesis of the case lies in the letter of complaint lodged by one Rahul Ranjan, Regional Manager, Regional Office-III Canara Bank pursuant to which FIR no. 290 of 2022 was registered on October 14, 2022 before Hare Street Police Station, Kolkata under Ss. 120B/420/467/468/471 of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR alleged that the accused persons fraudulently opened fictitious bank accounts with Canara Bank by utilising forged documents to facilitate fictitious transactions amounting to Rs.77.00 crores with the intent of cheating. Upon detecting unusually high volume of debit transactions in the said accounts within a span of less than a month, the bank held enquiry and found that the entities in question were neither conducting any business operation at the address provided, nor residing at the permanent residential address. On the basis of the statements of investors who transferred funds to the bank accounts in question, the petitioner 's name transpired. The investors had acquired knowledge of forex trading and received training on the IX Global platform. They were instructed to invest funds in TP Global FX with the expectation of generating substantial returns. It is alleged that the petitioner was a distributor of IX Global LLC and misled the public to induce them into investing on the TP Global FX platform. Two bank accounts maintained with the HDFC Bank were traced and it was found that one of these accounts reflected credit transactions including a transfer of Rs.19.40 lakhs to the account of the petitioner from an identity identified as TP Global Services. The accounts were thereafter frozen. The petitioner was taken into custody on December 24, 2023 in connection with the PMLA Case being M.L. Case No. 1 of 2023 and was formally shown as arrested in the predicate offence on January 8, 2024.

(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner has been named as an accused in the predicate offences being Hare Street P.S. Cases no. 290 of 2022 and 297 of 2022 and is on bail in both the cases. None of the witnesses has indicated that the petitioner was instrumental in operating the accounts opened at Canara Bank. Though it is alleged that both Tushar Patel and the petitioner are part of the conspiracy, the petitioner only acted as an influencer for Tushar 's Company. There is no evidence to show that TP Global is a part of IX Global. The petitioner had a brand ambassador agreement with IX Global LLC and was not connected to TP Global in any manner whatsoever.

(3.) The petitioner has accounted for the money found in his bank accounts and has also admitted the commission received by him in lieu of services rendered as an influencer, in his statement recorded under Sec. 50 of the PMLA. The other amounts seized from him were received from investment made in his personal capacity and cannot be termed as proceeds of crime. He himself disclosed information regarding properties bought with the commission received. It is alleged that the petitioner suggested his students to trade with TP Global, but there was no mandate. The witnesses cited by the E.D. are official witnesses and none of the witnesses whose statement was recorded under Sec. 50 of the PMLA appears as a witness in the charge sheet. The petitioner has been implicated solely on the basis of his statement recorded under Sec. 50 of the PMLA, the last statement being recorded on January 7, 2024. The last seizure was made on January 11, 2024. The petitioner neither visited Kolkata, nor participated in creation of documents. The co-accused whose bail prayer was turned down by this Court does not stand on the same footing as the petitioner since he was part of TP Global.