New Delhi [India], January 17: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Jaspreet Singh Bagga, the fifth accused in the Birfa IT case, which involves the illegal transfer of foreign remittances amounting to Rs 4,817 crore through bogus invoices for compensatory payments linked to under-invoiced imports from China and Hong Kong.
Bagga was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and produced before the Special Court (PMLA), Dwarka. He has been remanded to one-day ED custody until tomorrow. Previously, four individuals—Manideep Mago, Sanjay Sethi, Mayank Dang, and Tushar Dang—had been arrested in connection with the case.
The ED revealed that Bagga, involved in the optical business, is a close associate of Sanjay Sethi and Mayank Dang. He is believed to be a key player in the syndicate engaged in under-invoicing and illegal foreign remittances through hawala channels. According to the agency, Bagga’s shop served as the center for cash collection, where he gathered unaccounted cash from multiple importers. This cash was then taken to his home in Kirti Nagar, where it was further transferred to cash handlers working for Mago and Sethi. Ultimately, these funds were remitted abroad through fake invoices.
Investigations show that Bagga managed approximately Rs 250 crore in cash, which was funneled through various bank accounts before being sent abroad as compensatory payments to Chinese exporters. The ED initiated its probe based on information that Birfa IT had sold significant amounts of crypto assets and encashed Rs 1,858 crore from an Indian crypto exchange without actually purchasing any crypto assets, suggesting the use of international hawala networks involving crypto transactions.
A subsequent search under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) revealed evidence of illegal foreign remittances being processed by Mago using forged documents. Following these findings, the ED filed a complaint with the Delhi Crime Branch, leading to the registration of an FIR under multiple sections of the IPC. Given that the FIR contained scheduled offenses, the case was transferred to the ED for further investigation under PMLA.