ED summons Odisha miners for questioning

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Dec 16:

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned executives of some leading iron ore miners in Odisha for questioning to its regional headquarters in Kolkata.

These companies were referred to the ED by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing black money in the country, revealed an official in the agency.

The companies referred to the ED by the SIT include a major miner from Odisha, who has exported a huge quantity of iron ore in the recent past.

Vice-chairman of the SIT on black money and former Supreme Court judge Arijit Pasayat, who is here, had sought production data on mineral extraction over the last ten years from the state government’s Mining department and corresponding information from the departments of Income Tax and Excise. Pasayat is also learnt to have sought information from the Paradip Port on iron ore exports through it.

As critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been confronting him time and again on the issue of bringing back black money as promised by it in his election speeches the SIT’s move is being watched with keen interest.

The ED had last month sent notices to 16 iron ore miners in Goa seeking information on their shareholding pattern, balance sheets, bank account details and information for the period 2006-2012.

ED is the specialized financial investigation agency under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, which enforces Foreign Exchange Management Act,1999 (FEMA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) laws.