Shekhar Suman associate under ED scanner was caught with 7.4-kg gold in UK

📌 Summary:

• Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched premises of Dharmesh Sangani, promoter of Mumbai jewellery exporter Kalanee Impex Pvt Ltd and co-founder of Shekhar Suman Film Academy; probe centres on suspected Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violations

• ED says it found undisclosed foreign companies and bank accounts in Canada (KGN Ventures Canada Inc.), UAE (Hiramandi Events & Mgmt LLC, Dubai) and a suspected US entity (GBM Ventures LLC), plus foreign credit/debit cards and overseas-asset documents

• Sangani allegedly tried to destroy digital evidence by throwing his phone from the 13th floor during searches; phone retrieved and seized

• Cross-border trail: UK Border Force intercepted Sangani at Heathrow (Sept 2016) with 7.412 kg undeclared gold jewellery concealed on his person and in his wife''s handbag; UK First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) upheld the seizure in 2019 refusing restoration

• US angle: US Customs and Border Protection seized a ~$3.05 million jewellery consignment (June 2025) over smuggled merchandise/counterfeit trademark allegations; ED examining links to Kalanee Impex exports

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 Internal Security — money laundering, gold smuggling and cross-border illicit financial flows; role of ED and international customs cooperation in economic offences

📝 Prelims Facts:

• ED enforces FEMA, 1999 (civil) and PMLA, 2002 (criminal)
• FEMA violations: undisclosed foreign assets/accounts by residents
• Gold smuggling probes can involve customs law (Customs Act) plus FEMA/PMLA action

🔑 Key Term: FEMA, 1999 — civil law regulating foreign exchange transactions and holding of foreign assets by Indian residents; contraventions attract penalties enforced by the ED