ED Uncovers Rs 50 Crore Human Hair Export Scam: Raids Across Three States Target Nagaland Firms

Representational image generated by AI

New Delhi:

The Enforcement Directorate's Nagaland office conducted raids at seven locations across Assam, Tamil Nadu, and Nagaland this week. These operations targeted an alleged Rs 50 crore scam involving Imsong Global Suppliers, a Nagaland-based company claiming to export human hair. The searches covered one location each in Dimapur and Guwahati, plus three sites in Chennai.

According to officials, the company purportedly exports human hair to Tunisia and Italy. However, the federal probe agency initiated searches after receiving intelligence about suspicious foreign transactions. Sources indicated additional concerns arose because human hair export is considered an 'uncommon and commercially unviable' business operation in Dimapur.

Initial investigations revealed that while the company received funds from Italian and Tunisian firms, it failed to submit required export documentation, including shipping bills and invoices, within mandated timeframes.

This constitutes a direct violation of Reserve Bank and FEMA regulations.

Further inquiry uncovered that Imsong transferred received funds to a second entity - Inchem India Private Limited - allegedly for purchasing human hair.

Notably, Inchem India had been non-operational for several years before suddenly reopening in 2015, coinciding with Imsong beginning to receive foreign funds. ED sources noted that Inchem declared financial 'losses' during the relevant period, raising suspicions it functioned primarily as a monetary conduit.

The funds were subsequently transferred to multiple Chennai-based companies supposedly involved in human hair trading. However, agency investigators could not substantiate any actual purchases or sales transactions.

According to news agency PTI, portions of the money were diverted to personal accounts belonging to Lima Imsong and family members. Officials stated that Inchem India is 'owned and controlled' by Lima Imsong.

Investigators also discovered that a Director at Inchem had no awareness of the company's operational activities.

During the searches, the Enforcement Directorate seized various documents and digital devices.

The investigation remains ongoing.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.