ED probes money laundering case against Hero MotoCorp's Pawan Munjal; raids his premises

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday conducted searches against Hero MotoCorp executive chairperson Pawan Kant Munjal and others as part of a money laundering investigation, official sources said.

The searches were carried out at the residential and business premises of the 69-year-old billionaire businessman, the promoter of India’s largest two-wheeler automobiles manufacturer, in Delhi and neighbouring Gurugram apart from that of some linked entities, they said.

The raids were launched after the ED registered a case against them under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.

In a statement, the company said, ”Officials from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) today visited two of our offices in Delhi and Gurugram and the residence of our Executive Chairman Dr Pawan Munjal. We continue to extend all cooperation to the agency.” The ED case stems from a complaint filed against Munjal by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), an investigative arm of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).

The ED is understood to have also taken into account a Customs department case against Munjal and an executive belonging to a ”third party service provider” company that was hired by Hero MotoCorp to accompany and look after the travel and logistics arrangements for the billionaire during a business trip to London in August 2018.

Customs authorities are stated to have apprehended the executive on information from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The CISF had seized foreign currency worth more than Rs 81 lakh in his hand baggage during security checks just before the executive was supposed to take a British Airways flight to London along with Munjal from the Delhi international airport on August 20, 2018.

The Customs seized this currency under the foreign exchange management law and the litigation in this case is stated to be continuing.

The Income Tax Department in March last year had raided the premises of Munjal and Hero MotorCorp as part of a tax evasion investigation.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes, the administrative authority for the I-T department, had said during these searches, the taxman found alleged illegal business expenses of over Rs 800 crore and records showing that Rs 60 crore worth ”unaccounted” cash used to purchase land in Delhi and role of some shell companies.

The automobile company had then said in a regulatory filing that it was a ”law-abiding corporate, with robust internal financial controls” and its ”financial statements are duly audited”.

Hero MotoCorp became the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer in 2001, in terms of unit volume sales in a calendar year, and has maintained the title for the past 20 consecutive years.

The company has its presence across 40 countries in Asia, Africa, and South and Central America. The company said on its official website that ”over the past 10 years, the company has rapidly expanded its capacity, geographic footprint, customer touch points and R&D capabilities to emerge as a truly global brand.”