Updated: September 23, 2020 7:00:09 am
FinCEN’s files contain a 20-page “intelligence assessment” on the mirror network and list 54 shell companies that they say moved billions of dollars annually from Russia through European stock markets to other jurisdictions starting in 2011.
MORE than 100 transactions worth $ 104.4 million made by companies associated with Max Group founder and president Analjit Singh were reported by the Standard Chartered Bank of New York to the US financial watchdog. FinCEN.
These transactions, between July 2014 and November 2016, were between entities in India and those located in Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, South Africa, Jersey and the Isle of Man. Some of these companies also had Singh as a director, according to the bank records Reports of suspicious activity investigated by The Indian Express.
In two SARs, the bank said that Singapore-based LGO Pte, a company where Analjit Singh is a director, which had an account with the bank, conducted transactions with “unknown entities, located in high-risk jurisdictions.”
By the way, Analjit Singh has also been investigated for his overseas transactions in the past. In 2012, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) summoned Singh, then Chairman of Vodafone India, regarding a case of currency violations.
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The bank’s first SAR cited 85 transactions between July 2014 and May 2016, totaling $ 94.13 million with unidentified entities located in Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and India. “These transactions have the appearance of being carried out in a circular pattern with no identified business purpose. The remittance field section establishes the loan and / or repayment of the loan … In addition, several of the counterparties have registered addresses in Cyprus and appear to be shell companies without a line of business or identifiable physical locations, ”said the SAR.
In its second SAR, the bank identified 19 transactions totaling $ 10.3 million referred / received by LGO. These transactions were carried out between June 2016 and November 2016.
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The companies with which LGO Pte conducted these transactions include: Analjit Singh; Pier114 Imports Private Ltd; South Africa-based Leeu Holdings Ltd, formerly known as Blue Moral Ltd; Piveta Estates Private Ltd; Varana Global Holdings (based in the Isle of Man); LGOX DMCC (based in UAE) and DIXCART Services / DIXCART Management (based in Cyprus).
Records submitted by Max India providing details of Analjit Singh’s address and partnerships in other entities (including foreign companies) show that Singh is a director of LGO Pte, the company at the center of these transactions. He is also a director in three other companies that have been named in the SARs: Piveta Estates, Varana Global Holdings and Leeu Holdings Cyprus.
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While the SAR states that an Analjit Singh, located / banking in Singapore, could not be conclusively identified, it said, “An individual by this name was identified as the Chairman of Max India Group, an insurance and health care provider located in India and founder of The Leeu Collection, a South African-based hospitality company. A relationship between Leeu and Leeu Collection could not be conclusively established, although the names of the entities appear similar. “
In fact, the SAR has listed three transactions specifically made by Analjit Singh worth $ 2.19 million between June 6 and June 27, 2016. It said Singh used Deutsche Bank accounts in Singapore and Switzerland to send or receive funds. “The transactions lacked transparency and had an unidentifiable business purpose,” said the SAR.
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While it highlighted another transaction in which LGO Pte sent $ 1.16 million to Varana Global Holdings, the SAR said that a public search of Varana’s address on the Isle of Man “identified several unrelated companies using this address, which which suggests that Varana is possibly a shell company. “
According to the SAR, Varana used his account with Union Bank of India UK Ltd, Great Britain to receive the funds. Leeu Holdings, another Cyprus-registered company, received three LGO Pte transactions worth $ 1.65 million in June 2016.
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When asked about the SARs, Analjit Singh and its companies mentioned in these reports, a spokesperson for the Max India Group of Sponsors said: “All transactions referred to have been made in the normal course of business. business and in full compliance with the laws. Remittances have RBI approval. We also present an annual update according to the standard. As it is not a competent or designated authority, we have no reason to provide details for every transaction. The funds have been used to invest in hotel companies started in recent years and currently operating in South Africa, the UK Lake District and Florence, Italy ”.
On the observation in the SAR that Varana is possibly a shell company, the spokesperson said: “Varana is an ecological clothing line that markets its products in the UK, while it has a workshop in Bangalore. It has some highly respected Indians among its investors. “
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