Punamiya and Vyas

Ranchi, Aug. 16: Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers have decided to fly Manoj Punamiya and Arvind Vyas — both hawala operators and close aides of former chief minister Madhu Koda — to Delhi where they will be grilled for the next 10 days.

The ED quiz will focus on the modus operandi adopted by the two to transfer hundreds of crores of rupees from Jharkhand to other countries.

The move comes after the special ED court of G.K. Singh in Ranchi today allowed the directorate to take the duo on remand for interrogation.

“Investigating officers urged the special court to allow them to take both Punamiya and Vyas on remand and sought permission for their transfer from Birsa Munda Central Jail to Delhi. The court has granted remand for 10 days. They will be brought back to the Ranchi jail after that,” senior public prosecutor S.R. Das said.

The two accused are likely to be flown to New Delhi by a regular Air India afternoon flight. Details of their movement are being kept secret.

Punamiya and Vyas had been arrested on August 11 from Delhi and produced before the special ED court in Ranchi the following day. The court had remanded the duo in 14 days’ judicial custody.

A list of charges submitted before the court by the ED states that while Punamiya had reportedly siphoned off Rs 272 crore from the country, accomplice Vyas sent another Rs 672 crore overseas through a front company, Balaji Bullion and Retailers, for investments in Dubai, Thailand, Indonesia, Sweden, Liberia and elsewhere.

Letter rogatories have also been issued by the ED court in Ranchi to respective courts in Sweden, Indonesia, Liberia, Thailand and the UAE, seeking information on investments made and assets acquired by close Koda associates Binod Sinha, Sanjay Choudhury, besides Punamiya and other hawala operators suspected of illegally diverting crores of rupees from the state to foreign shores.

Punamiya, said to be the mastermind in the money laundering scam, is also being probed by the ED to find out how the Mumbai-based hawala dealer could leave the country and re-enter on at least five occasions despite red corner notices issued against him.