india

Updated: Jul 31, 2019 18:54 IST

The Enforcement Directorate (has seized assets of Mack Soft Tech Pvt Ltd (MSTPL) in Hyderabad consisting of 2,500 square yards of land and 2,45,000 square feet of building space worth Rs 86.38 crore.

The agency seized the assets after detecting illegal foreign outward remittances on the pretext of purchase of software licence and legal services by MSTPL “with a view to siphon off funds” from India and park them abroad, a statement said.

The action was taken under the provisions of Section 37A of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) in lieu of foreign assets illegally held abroad in contravention of Section 4 of FEMA.

The seized tech park is situated at Nanakramaguda in Hyderabad’s Gachibowli area.

During investigations, ED found that MSTPL illegally transferred foreign exchange to the tune of $12,500,000 (Rs 62.08 crore) to Orient Guide Investments Ltd in Hong Kong under the guise of purchase of a non-existent fake software licence.

From November 2011 to December 2016, MSTPL transferred foreign exchange to the tune of $3,980,000 (equivalent to Rs 24.30 crore) to Senat Legal Consultancy FZ LLC, UAE and Cresco Legal Consultancy FZ LLC, UAE in the name of legal services. “It was revealed that this was a sham transaction,” the ED statement said.