Massive Fake Gold Export Scam Uncovered at Chennai Airport

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has charged four customs officials for aiding the export of counterfeit gold jewelry worth Rs 487 crore from Chennai Airport. The officials allegedly accepted bribes in exchange for marking fake jewelry as authentic gold, enabling fraudsters to claim customs duty refunds.

In a significant breakthrough, the Central Bureau of Investigation has indicted four customs officials for their alleged involvement in a massive fake gold jewelry export scam at Chennai Airport, valued at Rs 487 crore.

The CBI, in its charge sheet, claims these officials colluded with exporters to pass off imitation jewelry as genuine gold, purportedly to falsely claim customs duty refunds. The operation reportedly involved a bribe sum of Rs 6.99 crore to smoothen this deceitful export process.

The scam was unraveled by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in 2022, which intercepted fraudulent consignments. Following the interception, several customs officials and exporters, including Deepak Siroya and Santosh Kothari, have been named as accused in the case.

(With inputs from agencies.)