Chennai, Sep 2: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a First Information Report (FIR) in connection with a massive gold export fraud at Chennai Airport Cargo, where a nexus of Customs officials and jewellery traders allegedly defrauded the Union government of over Rs 1,000 crore annually between 2020 and 2022.

The FIR names 13 accused, including five Customs officials, a jewellery assessor, a customs agent, and four gold jewellery manufacturers.

Those booked include Customs Superintendents J. Sureshkumar, Alok Shukla, and P. Tulasiram, jewellery assessor N. Samuel, customs agent Mariyappan, and manufacturers Deepak Siroya, Santosh Kothari, Sunil Parmar, and Sunil Sharma.

According to investigators, the accused imported 24-carat gold bars under the Duty-Free Import Authorisation (DFIA) scheme, which mandated that the bars be converted into 22-carat ornaments for re-export.

Instead, they allegedly exported gold-plated brass and copper ornaments or substandard jewellery, pocketing the margins and causing massive losses to the exchequer.

The racket first surfaced in 2022 when the Central Revenue Intelligence (CRI) detected anomalies in bills of lading for consignments headed to Gulf countries. Physical inspections revealed fake or inferior ornaments instead of genuine gold jewellery.

CRI then recommended a CBI investigation, though sanctions to prosecute Customs officials delayed the case. The Union government recently granted permission, enabling the agency to move forward. Since registering the case, CBI teams have carried out searches at the Chennai Airport Customs Cargo Office, residences of Customs officials in Pallavaram, Alandur, Nanganallur, and Anna Nagar, as well as jewellery shops and manufacturers’ offices in Flower Bazaar, Sowcarpet, and Kondithope.

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Officials also examined the XRF Spectrometer used to test gold purity at the cargo terminal and seized incriminating documents.

CBI sources said the case highlights systemic vulnerabilities in customs checks and misuse of trade facilitation schemes.

With evidence still being gathered, officials indicated that more individuals may be brought under the scanner and that the scam could emerge as one of the largest financial crimes linked to airport cargo operations in the country.

(IANS)

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