Chennai: The owner of a city-based construction company was arrested on Friday in connection with the seizure of $150,000 (97lakh) from a Korean national at the Chennai airport on December 25.
The Mylapore-based builder was arrested after customs officials probing the case found that he had given the $150,000 seized from the South Korean national. "The arrested Korean national was a courier. He was being used by the owner of the construction company to smuggle the cash to evade tax," said an officer.
The officer said it was a the typical case of money laundering, but one of the largest seizures in recent times. The last such incident was about a year ago when a man was caught carrying $19,000. While investigators are still trying to find details about the case, they say foreign exchange rules in the country seem to be inefficient to prosecute such criminals.
06/01/14 Arun Janardhanan/Times of India
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The Mylapore-based builder was arrested after customs officials probing the case found that he had given the $150,000 seized from the South Korean national. "The arrested Korean national was a courier. He was being used by the owner of the construction company to smuggle the cash to evade tax," said an officer.
The officer said it was a the typical case of money laundering, but one of the largest seizures in recent times. The last such incident was about a year ago when a man was caught carrying $19,000. While investigators are still trying to find details about the case, they say foreign exchange rules in the country seem to be inefficient to prosecute such criminals.
06/01/14 Arun Janardhanan/Times of India
