Cases against 3 Delhi firms in 250-cr pulse export scam registered

New Delhi, Mar 30 (UNI) The CBI today registered cases against three Delhi-based firms and buyers in Dubai in connection with the alleged Rs 250-crore scam involving illegal export of pulses.

Searches conducted on the premises of these firms-- Jetking International Ltd, Kohinoor Foods Ltd, Khushiram Biharilal Ltd-- led to the seizure of several incriminating documents and details containing agreement with the buyers, invoices, Letters of Credit (LoC), shipment details and correspondence with the government agencies, according to the CBI.

The cases were registered after the CBI received a complaint from the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) regarding the illegal export of pulses by the firms.

Besides the three firms, the Central agency has also registered cases against the three importers/buyers for purchase of the 'consignment', according the CBI.

The move follows the CBI investigations into the alleged 'illegal' sale of pulses in the face of rising prices of the commodity in the local market, and the government imposing a ban on its export.

The government had banned export of pulses in June last year till March 2007. The three exporters connived with the three buyers, manipulated back dated documents with an offshore bank based at Cook Islands and sold about 60,000 metric tonnes of pulses costing 58 million US dollars (approximately Rs 250 crore).

UNI