ED arrests Baneet Singh Talwar in Rs 89 cr narcotics money laundering case

New Delhi: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) arrested Baneet Singh Talwar, son of late Harminder Singh, on Friday, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a major case linked to large-scale narcotics smuggling, an official statement said on Saturday.

Talwar was produced before the Special Judge (PMLA), Tis Hazari Courts (West District), on Friday and remanded to five days of ED custody, the ED press note said.

The ED probe was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, and the Indian Penal Code against Harpreet Singh Talwar and others.

The NIA has already filed six charge sheets, alleging a conspiracy with an international drug-smuggling syndicate operating from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Dubai under the mastermind Vitaysh Koser alias Raju Dubai, a wanted accused, along with Pakistani ISI agents and Afghan nationals, the statement said.

Investigations have revealed that proceeds amounting to Rs 76 crore generated from the illegal sale of narcotics were transferred via hawala to Afghanistan and used for funding terrorist activities.

Financial probes by the ED have so far identified proceeds of crime totalling Rs 89 crore arising from contraband smuggling, drug sale proceeds siphoned to Afghanistan through hawala channels, and goods received in kind.

Baneet Singh Talwar is brother of Harpreet Singh Talwar. Probe findings show that he continued to manage and operate business entities under the beneficial control of his brother even after the latter’s arrest by the NIA, it said.

He is alleged to have provided more than Rs 55 lakh to M/s Magent India, an entity controlled by Harpreet Singh Talwar and involved in narcotics smuggling.

Financial analysis has uncovered multiple instances of round-tripping of funds, with matching and mirror entries across different entities indicating a structured flow of proceeds of crime.

Baneet Singh is also accused of using cash deposits to finance the purchase of vehicles in the names of benami entities, which have already been seized by the ED, and of parking proceeds to acquire immovable properties whose benefits continue to be enjoyed by Harpreet Singh Talwar and his family.

The ED described the arrest as part of a whole-of-government approach to dismantle the drug-smuggling racket and the nexus involving narcotics trafficking, money laundering and hawala transactions. Further investigation is in progress.

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