Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama’s security is being rigidified after the detention of two people who were allegedly keeping a track of his movement on the directions of Chinese national Charlie Peng, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Monday.
Charlie Peng was previously taken in by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly running an illegitimate money-making business. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had detained him.
Apparently, he is holding a fake Indian passport and officials had said he created a “web of sham companies to launder hawala funds to and from China” in the past two-three years.
Mr Thakur said a Chinese woman, Lan Hoo, and another person, identified as Sonu Bangtoo, were detained by Himachal Police for their illicit links with Charlie Peng.
The news is still under the mist whether Bangtoo is a Chinese national or a Tibetan refugee but it is confirmed that huge cash has been deposited into their account by Charlie Peng through SK Traders company for monitoring the movement of the Dalai Lama and providing him related information, he added.
The chief minister had instructed the state police to further tighten the Dalai Lama’s security and to be more vigilant and cautious in Dharamshala, his residence.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had registered the money laundering case against Charlie Peng for allegedly running a hawala racket worth an estimated ₹ 1,000 crore using shell or dubious firms.
The ED had taken note of the tax department evidence and action and a Delhi Police Special Cell FIR against Peng before filing the criminal case of money laundering against him, officials had said.
Peng, the sources said, was put behind bars by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police in September, 2018 on account of fraud and forgery.
It is also proclaimed that Peng got a fake Indian passport from Manipur after marrying a woman from that state and some fake Aadhaar cards were also recovered during the raids against him.
“Search action revealed that at the behest of Chinese individuals, more than 40 bank accounts were created in various dummy entities, entering into credits of more than ₹ 1,000 crore over the period,” the CBDT had said.
“Incriminating documents of hawala transactions and money laundering with the active involvement of bank employees and Chartered Accountants have been found as a result of the search action,” it said.
Evidence of foreign hawala transactions involving Hong Kong and US dollars have also been uncovered, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had said.