Three people, including a Chinese national who was allegedly staying illegally in India after his visa expired, were arrested in Noida for operating a hawala network and setting up multiple shell companies for money laundering, the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force said.
It said on Thursday evening that the accused are Chinese national Liao Longhui, who currently resides in Sector 93, Noida, Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Ghaziabad, and Kaushalendra, a resident of Oriya.
Rajkumar Mishra, additional superintendent of police, STF Noida unit, said the three were arrested on Wednesday night from Purvanchal Silver City in Sector 93 after an investigation into suspicious financial transactions.
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According to the STF, the gang set up shell companies in India and China and illegally transferred large sums of money abroad through hawala channels.
The Special Task Force recovered five laptops, nine mobile phones, one tablet, a fake Aadhaar card bearing the name “Samuel Lotha” but bearing Liao’s photo, two PAN cards, 10 company stamps, two Chinese passports, one Chinese identity card, 11 check books from different banks, bills, and checks worth $4.72 Crores $15400 in cash.
The investigation led the STF to YTL Manufacturing Pvt Ltd, a company registered at a Noida address and operating from Sector 83. The company was allegedly managed by Liao Longhui, Mishra said.
The STF summoned Liao along with his Indian associates, Sanjeev Kumar and Kaushalendra, for interrogation along with company documents.
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During interrogation, Liao failed to provide complete records related to the visa and company and told investigators that the remaining documents were kept at his residence in Purvanchal Silver City.
Subsequent search of the premises led to the recovery of check books and documents relating to several suspected shell companies, following which the three accused were arrested at around 10 pm on Wednesday, Mishra said.
During interrogation, Liao told investigators that he came to India in 2018 and was running YTL Manufacturing Pvt Ltd, a company set up by his father-in-law Mugen Yu and his brother-in-law Kuiping Tang.
The company manufactured mobile phone covers by importing raw materials from China at inflated prices and selling the finished products at Karol Bagh and Nehru Place markets in Delhi through low invoices, police said.
According to the fund, the remaining funds were allegedly transferred abroad through hawala channels and were eventually directed to China.
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Investigators alleged that Liao urged several YTL Manufacturing Pvt Ltd employees to submit their documents, which were then used to create shell companies, including JNS Infra Heights Pvt Ltd, Refan Enterprises India Pvt Ltd, Tidydesk Essential Pvt Ltd, and Z One Enterprises.
Another shell company, Hanuraj Trading Solution Pvt Ltd, was floated in the name of his driver Devendra and used for money laundering, the STF said.
The police alleged that the entire racket was run by Liao with the help of Kushalendra and Kumar, a chartered accountant, who is suspected of playing a key role in merging the shell companies and opening bank accounts used for hawala transactions.
The STF said investigations also revealed that Liao’s Indian visa expired in 2020, and that he had been living illegally in the country since then while carrying out hawala operations and other financial crimes through the network of shell companies.
Police said further investigations are underway.
