Cross‑border money trail leads ED to seize assets of actor’s associate

Mumbai, July 10 – The Enforcement Directorate intensified its crackdown on alleged financial irregularities after conducting a search of Kalani Impex Private Limited, the company associated with Dharmesh Sanghani, a close aide of film star Shekhar Suman.

The raid, sanctioned under the Foreign Exchange Management Act of 1999, targeted hidden foreign bank accounts and suspicious transactions that spanned Canada, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. Sanghani’s involvement in a film‑production outfit and his potential co‑founding role at the Shekhar Suman Film Academy placed him under additional scrutiny.

During the operation, investigators uncovered that export proceeds expected to be remitted to India were either delayed indefinitely or diverted to third‑party entities not identified on the original export documents. The missing funds were traced to a Canadian firm in which Sanghani held a significant, undisclosed shareholding.

A separate UAE business entity linked to Sanghani also emerged from the investigation, with no prior disclosure to Indian regulators. Authorities noted the absence of any formal request for an extension from the authorised dealer bank, as well as a lack of documented efforts to recover the unpaid export money.

The ED has flagged potential violations of FEMA, while customs officials in the United States and the United Kingdom continue to examine related transactions.