Hyderabad, Oct 17 – The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) carried out search operations in Hyderabad last Thursday, targeting five money‑changing businesses that are suspected of operating illegally.
The ED’s Hyderabad zonal office said the raids followed the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) rules and hit Prism Forex, Garuda Forex Services, Sree Vimal Nath Forex, Victory Forex & Travel Services and Digital Forex. The authorities found that none of the firms held a valid Reserve Bank of India (RBI) license.
Last summer, the RBI inspected the same outlets and uncovered serious fraud: KYC forms without correct travel tickets, fake traveller names, forged itinerary details, mismatched customer signatures and duplicate copies of the same ticket. Sales were concentrated on low‑cost trips to visa‑free destinations such as Indonesia, the Maldives, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
After the RBI forced the companies to hand back their licences in June‑July, the ED discovered that Prism, Victory and Digital were still operating. The businesses displayed counterfeit RBI licences and continued to change money on a regular basis.
The raids recovered a range of incriminating evidence, including mobile phones, laptops and documents that documented illegal foreign‑currency deals. Officials seized roughly ₹11.99 lakh of unaccounted Indian cash and about ₹26.77 lakh worth of foreign currency in multiple denominations.
The ED said it is still investigating the matter and will take further action against those who violated export‑import and exchange regulations. The crackdown aims to stop illegal foreign‑exchange activities in Hyderabad and protect consumers from deceptive money‑changing practices.
Source: ianslive
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