Mumbai: Court convicts three senior citizens including two ex-customs officials in duty evasion scam, imposes fine of Rs 5.5 cr

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A court in Mumbai has convicted three senior citizens including two former Customs officials and imposed a fine of Rs 5.50 crore in a two-decade-old case of customs duty evasion.

Special judge for CBI cases, S U Wadgaonkar said in his order on Wednesday that economic offences have serious consequences for the country's economy and financial health.

The court sentenced main accused Toufiq Gaffar (71) to seven years in jail and directed him to pay a fine of Rs 5.30 crore.

"The accused (Gaffar) reaped the benefit of crime proceeds of Rs 4.5 crore in the year 2000. Hence, he is held responsible for commission of economic offence and is liable to pay a fine amount commensurate with the wrongful loss sustained by the government in 2000," the court said.

The court also convicted 81-year-old Vinayak Bhende, then assistant commissioner of Export Oriented Units (EOU) Scheme, Customs, and sentenced him to two years in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 20 lakh on him.

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It sentenced 71-year-old Vinay Kumar, then appraiser of the EOU, to one year in jail with a fine of Rs five lakh.

Being public servants, Bhende and Kumar committed criminal misconduct and allowed Gaffar to gain pecuniary advantage, the court said.

Gaffar was accused of creating a fictitious company named Rama Syntex Pvt Ltd through which forged documents were submitted to the Customs department for registration of EOU.

The accused were instrumental in clearing 38 consignments of fabrics under the duty-free EOU Scheme by submitting forged procurement certificates, the CBI alleged.

Using these forged certificates, customs duty exemption of Rs 4.25 crore was availed, it said.

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