New Delhi: Nearly the entire proceeds of crime Mohali-based former Air Canada manager Simran Preet Panesar allegedly received through hawala channels was spent on the production of a Punjabi movie in which his wife was to make her debut as an actor, ThePrint has learnt. Panesar is an accused in Canada’s “largest gold heist”.
Probing the money trail, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) found that Panesar allegedly received Rs 8.5 crore through hawala channels, and spent nearly all of it on producing the movie. However, the project couldn’t take off, denying his wife Gurpreet Kaur, who also goes by popular name of Preety Kaur, an opportunity to debut in the Punjabi film industry.
“The shooting for the movie took place in India and also abroad in London. His wife was making her debut in the planned movie, but the money laundering investigation derailed the process completely,” an ED official told ThePrint.
The agency registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), invoking section 2 (1) (ra) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, after learning that Panesar, wanted by the Canadian authorities, may well have brought proceeds of crime to India.
The particular section addresses offences committed abroad, which also constitute a scheduled offence under the provisions of the PMLA. In general, the section is invoked at the request of foreign authorities to investigate crimes committed by Indian individuals that have international implications.
The agency opened the particular case based on its assessment of the gold heist carried out on 17 April, 2023, at Toronto’s Pearson Airport when a consignment containing 6,600 gold bars or four quintals of gold worth over $20 million (2.5 million Canadian dollar) was transported in a container on an Air Canada flight from Switzerland.
It was then allegedly swindled with the help of one Brampton man, named Durante King-McLean.
A year later, on 16 April, 2024, King-Mclean was also charged with a conspiracy in an unrelated international firearms trafficking case by the US Department of Justice. Two other Brampton men—Prasath Paramalingam, Archit Grover—besides a third were also charged.
The same month, the Peel Regional Police in Canada issued arrest warrants against nine individuals—including the trio of King-McLean, Prasath Paramalingam, Archit Grover and Panesar, Parmpal Sidhu and Amit Jalota—for their role in the Pearson Airport gold heist. They were charged with theft of over $5,000, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and possession of property obtained by crime.
After assessing details from these two cases, the ED registered an ECIR and raided Panesar’s Mohali residence and three other premises linked to him in Mohali and Chandigarh. The agency has also got a lookout circular issued against Panesar.
The scrutiny of mobile phones seized during the raids allegedly led investigators to a hawala operator in Chandigarh, and a subsequent recovery of diaries revealed the extent of money received by Panesar through hawala channels.
“Several entries have been made in the hawala diaries showing payment amounting to Rs 8.5 crore between November 2023 and February this year, strongly suggesting that funds were transferred starting a few months after the gold heist and till the time money laundering investigation started,” another ED official said.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)