Indian investigators probing the illegal exports of pulses at a time when such sales were banned have unearthed evidence connecting the alleged scam with one of the world's most notorious underworld groups.

The scam allegedly involved using backdated irrevocable letters of credit (L/Cs) to make it appear that the exports were transacted before the pulse export ban came into force on 28 June 2006.

Front man

Mukesh Kochar, an alleged front man for Indian underworld don Ibrahim Dawood, arranged the export documentation according to local media.

The L/Cs were opened with an offshore bank based in the Cook Islands and have been examined by investigators. They have also seen correspondence between exporters and government agencies as well as computer hard disks containing agreements with buyers, invoices and shipment details.

Further investigations

Three major exporters have been questioned in connection with the illegal exports. They are Shyam Sunder Jain of Jetking International, Satnam Arora of Kohinoor Foods and A K Mittal of KRBL Ltd.

Local media reports say the probe extends to government agencies and may result in exposing politicians and entrepreneurs involved in money-laundering activities.

Export ban

India banned pulse exports in 2006 due to domestic shortages and lifted the ban on 31 March 2007. The export ban kept prices for pulses down in India but forced prices up elsewhere, thus allowing illegal pulse exporters to make very high margins if they defied the ban.

Illegal exports during the ban are estimated to have totalled around US$60 million.

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