The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has arrested Delhi-based importers Mayank Dang and Tushar Dang in connection with the Birfa IT case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The duo was presented before the Special Court in Dwarka, which remanded them to three days of ED custody until November 28, 2024. The ED plans to interrogate them further to gather more information related to the case.
The arrests are part of the ED’s ongoing efforts to dismantle alleged money laundering networks involved in illicit financial activities. In a statement on its official X account, the ED announced, “ED, Hqrs. The office arrested Delhi-based importers Mayank Dang and Tushar Dang on November 25, 2024, under the provisions of PMLA, 2002, in the Birfa IT Case. They were produced before the Hon’ble Special Court, Dwarka, which has remanded the accused to 3-day ED custody till November 28, 2024.”
The Dang brothers were apprehended on November 25, following the earlier arrests of two other suspects, Manideep Mago and Sanjay Sethi, in the same case. The investigation centers around the illegal transfer of foreign remittances amounting to ₹4,817 crore, facilitated through bogus and forged invoices for compensatory payments related to under-invoiced imports from China and Hong Kong.
The ED’s investigation revealed that the Dang brothers orchestrated a sophisticated syndicate involving a large network of Indian importers, traders, cash handlers, international Hawala agents, local Angandiya firms, and numerous Chinese manufacturers and suppliers, along with a dedicated chain of warehouses in major Chinese cities.
Further inquiries indicated that the Dang family operated several foreign entities in collusion with a key Chinese associate known as Mr. King. This individual procured goods from various Chinese manufacturers and suppliers, storing them in multiple warehouses before exporting them to firms owned by the Dang family.
The investigation also uncovered that the goods imported by the Dang brothers were significantly under-invoiced, with compensatory payments being sent abroad through Manideep Mago and Sanjay Sethi. These remittances were made against fraudulent invoices for services such as online server leases for crypto mining and educational software, which were never actually provided. Payments were directed to foreign companies controlled by Mago and his accomplices, who then transferred funds to Chinese exporters supplying products to India.
Additionally, the ED found that the offices of the Dang brothers and their clients served as regular cash pick-up points for employees of Mago and Sethi. This cash was funneled through various bank accounts operated by the accused before being sent abroad to pay Chinese exporters.
The investigation also revealed that the Dang brothers attempted to destroy evidence by instructing their employees and clients to alter or dispose of their digital devices following the initiation of the ED’s inquiry into the case.
