JAMMU, Sep 11:Officers of Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS) cadre posted in SFIO & Registrar of Companies (ROC) offices across the country on Thursday conducted searches on the premises of 300 entities linked with Chinese directors.
Press release reads that after the simultaneous search and seizure operations conducted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 8th Sept. 2022, on the offices of Jillian Consultants India Private Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jilian Hong Kong Ltd., at Gurgaon, Fininty Pvt Ltd at Bangalore and Husys Consulting Ltd, an erstwhile listed company at Hyderabad, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has arrested Mr Dortse yesterday.
Mr Dortse is on the Board of Jillian India Ltd and has clearly emerged as the mastermind of the whole racket of incorporating large number of shell companies with Chinese links in India and providing dummy Directors on their Boards. The arrested person Mr. Dortse had shown himself to be a resident of Mandi in Himachal Pradesh as per the records filed with the Registrar of Companies.
Evidence procured during the enquiry by ROC Delhi and the simultaneous search operations clearly points to dummy Directors being paid by Jilian India Ltd. to act as dummies in several shell companies. Boxes filled with company seals and digital signatures of dummy directors have been recovered from the site. The Indian employees were in touch with the Chinese counterparts through a Chinese instant messaging app. Husys Ltd. was also found to be acting on behalf of Jilian India Ltd.. Initial observations reveal that Husys Ltd. had a pact with Jilian Hong Kong Ltd. Investigations so far have revealed the possible involvement of these shell companies in serious financial crimes detrimental to the financial security of the country.
This is probably the first instance of a pan India coordinated search operation by the ministry of corporate Affairs by invoking the relevant sections of Companies Act 2013 like section 209 that deals with Search and Seizure & Other sections empowering SFIO to make arrests. The ROC Offices are manned by ICLS officers who were handling the search and seizure operations at places like Delhi, Gurugram, Bangalore & Hyderabad besides other places.
The role of the ministry of corporate affairs has expanded immensely in the past few years and the dedicated cadre of this ministry is responsible for enforcing the Corporate governance besides keeping a check on white Collar crimes. After Enforcement Directorate, SFIO & ROCs manned by ICLS officers play an important role in tackling economic offences as both ED & SFIO are empowered to make arrests.
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