New Delhi: Luo Sang, a Chinese national who was arrested on Tuesday night in a raid by the Income Tax Department for money laundering and representing fake Chinese companies in hawala transactions, was earlier arrested by Delhi Police on spying charges. It has come to light that Luo Sang, who took a fake identity `Charlie Peng` in India, had earlier been arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police in September 2018, under charges of espionage. According to sources, the Delhi Police had alleged that `Charlie Peng` was spying for China and also running money laundering and hawala transaction businesses. However, he was let go later by court.

How I-T Dept nabbed Lou Sang

On Tuesday, the Income Tax Department conducted searches in 21 locations in Delhi, Ghaziabad and Gurugram after getting "credible information" of the Chinese involvement in money laundering. Chinese national Luo Sang`s name emerged during these raids. He was nabbed from one of the 21 locations searched by the IT.

Point person for massive hawala operation

According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Lou Sang was using 8-10 bank accounts and represented fake Chinese companies in hawala operations worth Rs 300 crore. He was infusing cash of around Rs 3 crore through hawala on daily basis with the help of bank employees in Bandhan Bank and ICICI bank. He holds over 40 bank accounts. Bank employees were also raided and it is suspected that the scam is worth over Rs 1000 crore and is being operated using a subsidiary of the Chinese company. It is suspected that Lou Sang was running this scam from the last 3 years. The accused kept on changing his addresses at a regular time. Earlier he was staying in Dwaraka and the current address was in Phase-5, DLF Gurugram. The foreign hawala transactions also involve Honk Kong and US dollars.

"Search action has revealed that at the behest of the Chinese individuals, more than 40 bank accounts were created in various dummy entities, entering into credits of more than Rs 1000 crores over time. A subsidiary of Chinese company and its related concerns have taken over Rs 100 crores bogus advances from shell entities for opening businesses of retail showrooms in India. Further, incriminating documents in respect of hawala transactions and laundering of money with the active involvement of bank employees and chartered accountants have been found as a result of search action. Pieces of evidence of foreign hawala transactions involving Hong Kong and US dollars have also been found," the CBDT said in a statement on Tuesday.

Fake documents

The Income Tax Department has recovered two fake Aadhaar cards, a fake PAN card and a fake passport from Luo Sang`s possession. The first Aadhaar card has been issued in the name of a Charlie Peng. The address given on the Aadhaar card is Sector 19, Dwarka, Delhi. The second Aadhaar card is also in the name of Charlie Peng but the address given is of Manipur.

The 40-year-old Chinese national Luo Sang also has an Indian passport issued in Guwahati. A PAN card has also been recovered from his possession which carries the name of Charlie Peng. According to the sleuths, Charlie Peng`s real identity is Luo Sang. He is a Chinese national and hails from Lhasa, Tibet. His current address is in Gurugram, Haryana.

Marriage to Indian girl for fake documents

It has also come to light that Luo Sang had married an Indian earlier to make the process of acquiring an Indian passport, easier. His wife hailed from Lunglei in Mizoram. The investigating agency has recovered the wife`s passport as well.

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