Courtesy-Deccan Cronicle
Bellary:Officers of the CBIs Economic Offences Wing (EOW) could be roped in to investigate the export of illegally mined iron ore from the state through seven southern ports as the scam involves money laundering, tax and duty evasion, under- invoicing of export sales, and parking of wealth outside the country besides other offences under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA), according to sources.
The director of the CBI has reportedly decided to constitute a special team of EOW sleuths from Delhi and Chennai with expertise in dealing with economic offences to probe the case.
The CBI, Bangalore branch, which is probing the export of 50 lakh metric tonnes of illicit iron ore through the Belekeri port, has so far arrested 26 persons and filed a chargesheet in one case related to S B Logistics.
The Supreme Court had in September permitted the CBI to register 20 additional FIRs against companies which have exported more than 50,000 metric tonnes of illegally excavated iron ore. The agency began its investigation in October 2011 after the court ordered an inquiry into the affairs of the Associated Mining Company owned by former minister Janardhan Reddy and the Deccan Mining Syndicate.
