Shell firms: ED searches at 100 places in 16 states, finds NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal's connection with such firms; 7 updates

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday launched a country-wide operation and conducted searches at 100 locations in sixteen states as part of its crackdown on shell companies. Here are latest updates:

• ED raids shell companies of former chief engineer of Noida authority Yadav Singh.
• In Mumbai, ED finds NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal's connection with shell companies after conducting raids in Andheri and Santa Cruz.
• Officials said multiple teams of the ED on Saturday visited these locations and raided the premises of about 300 shell firms in prominent places like Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Patna, Ranchi, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar and Bengaluru among others.
• They said the action is being carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to check instances of money laundering and illegal foreign exchange transactions.
• The action is part of the mandate given to the ED under a Special Task Force (STF).
• STF was recently created by the government on the directions of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
• The agency has recently attached assets worth crores of such firms in the last over a week's time.

What exactly shell companies mean: Shell companies are defined as those firms which are set up by nominal paid-up capital, high reserves and surplus on account of receipt of high share premium, investment in unlisted companies, no dividend income, high cash in hand, private companies as majority shareholders, low turnover and operating income, nominal expenses, nominal statutory payments and stock in trade and minimum fixed asset.