Enforcement Directorate conducting searches under FEMA into ‘suspected hawala operator’

The Enforcement Directorate is conducting searches under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) linked to Naresh Kumar Kejriwal, a Ranchi-based Chartered Accountant and “suspected hawala operator”, along with his family members and associates across Ranchi, Mumbai, and Surat.

“The action is based on the Income Tax Department findings revealing that Mr. Kejriwal controls undisclosed foreign shell entities in the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, and the United States-managed effectively from India, which have accumulated over ₹900 crore in unexplained reserves and routed around ₹1,500 crore back to India through bogus telegraphic transfers,” said an agency source.

“As these foreign assets were not disclosed in statutory filings and appear to be vehicles for large-scale illicit fund layering, the search is critical to secure incriminating digital and documentary evidence of these unauthorised cross-border dealings,” the source said.