New Delhi: A Chinese national, who was arrested in a raid by the Income Tax Department Tuesday night for allegedly running a hawala network for Chinese companies, was also arrested by Delhi Police’s Special Cell on charges of espionage in September 2018.
Investigation has revealed that Luo Sang took up a fake name ‘Charlie Peng’ after illegally entering India from Nepal in 2014. He then married a woman from Mizoram and took up Indian identity with a fake passport, which was issued from Manipur. He also got an Aadhaar card and PAN card made in that name, sources told ThePrint.
The investigators alleged that he was working for Chinese intelligence agencies and running business of hawala transactions through a currency exchange firm. He was granted bail by a Delhi court in 2019 and had since engaged in the hawala trade again, sources added.
On Tuesday, the I-T Department conducted searches in 21 locations in Delhi, Ghaziabad and Gurugram after they received an input of “Chinese involvement in money laundering”.
During investigation, Sang’s name cropped up and he was arrested yet again.
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How did the Special Cell get him?
Sang was arrested from Majnu Ka Tila in north Delhi on 13 September 2018.
According to sources, he was on the radar of the intelligence agencies due to his “suspicious travels” and “money matters”.
The sleuths then tracked his movements to Northeastern states and also Himachal Pradesh. After a background check, the agencies found that he belongs to Nanjing in China.
The police then started working on developing information on him and arrested him in September 2018 after raids. He was booked under a case of impersonation and under sections of the Passport Act.
“We also recovered cash, some dollars and Thai currency from his possession,” a source said.
‘Shoddy background’
According to the same source, during interrogation by the Special Cell, Sang had claimed that he came to India from Tibet because of persecution of Tibetans by Chinese authorities.
According to the source, Sang also claimed to be a soldier of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and was asked to turn into a Chinese agent.
“He was giving different statements each time. First he said he fled from Tibet, then he said he was associated with the PLA. He, however, confessed to be a spy. He also said that the Chinese provided him finance to set up companies involved in e-commerce here,” the source added.
According to the source, Sang’s job was also to arrange logistics for people in the Chinese embassy.
The current case
According to officials of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Sang was using 8-10 bank accounts and represented fake Chinese companies in hawala operations worth Rs 300 crore.
Officials also said that he was dealing with transactions of around Rs 3 crore using hawala on daily basis in connivance with employees in Bandhan Bank and ICICI bank.
Officials suspect that this is a scam worth thousands of crores of rupees.
According to them, Sang held over 40 bank accounts, which were used for various transactions. They also said hawala transactions involved Honk Kong and US dollars.
“Search action has revealed that at the behest of the Chinese individuals, more than 40 bank accounts were created in various dummy entities, entering into credits of more than Rs 1,000 crores over time,” said a statement by the CBDT.
“A subsidiary of Chinese company and its related concerns have taken over Rs 100 crores bogus advances from shell entities for opening businesses of retail showrooms in India,” it added.
According to officials, incriminating documents showing hawala transactions and laundering of money with the active involvement of bank employees and chartered accountants have also been found.
Following the raids, the I-T department has also recovered two fake Aadhaar cards, a fake PAN card and a fake passport from his possession.
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