Buying gold was the best way to get rid of old notes and black money. This happened across all the cities in India.Gold biscuits worth Rs 2,700 crore in cash was bought with demonitised notes in November 2016 in Hyderabad alone.
The persons who did the purchase went underground thereafter. ED sources told that 8,000 kgs of gold was imported into Hyderabad between November 8 and 30, the period post demonitisation.
“That all this was sold can be ascertained from the fact that there was fresh import of 1,500kgs of gold between December 1 and 10. There is a sudden spurt in the bullion market and those with high stash of the demonetised currency are buying gold from bullion traders and jewellers in Hyderabad,” the reports said.
Looking at the details in the case of Musaddilal Jewellers in Hyderabad, ED officials are now suspecting foul play in the sale of gold in large quantities+ . Musaddilal jewellers have claimed that they received demands and advance payments and sold the gold to 5,200 customers and made Rs 100 crore and that the business was transacted till the midnight of November 8-9.
ED sources said Musaddilal jewellers deposited the Rs 100 crore in the bank and transferred the same to four bullion traders. It is ED’s case that the jeweller could have sold gold worth Rs 100 crore in the few hours from when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation and the ban came into effect that midnight.
Gold as bullion was imported into Hyderabad through companies like Diamond India, MMTC, MD Overseas Ltd, State Trading Corporation and banks like Axis, The Bank of Nova Scotia, Indus Ind, Yes Bank, ICICI, SBI, HDFC and Kotak Mahindra etc.
Majority of the jewellers across the nation were involved in some form of foul play or the other after the announcement of the demonetisation.
