The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Hyderabad Zonal Office, carried out searches at five locations in the city on October 16 and unearthed illegal money-changing activities by several firms operating without valid Reserve Bank of India licences.
The searches were conducted at the offices of Prism Forex Private Limited, Garuda Forex Services Private Limited, Sree Vimal Nath Forex Private Limited, Victory Forex & Travel Services Private Limited, and Digital Forex Private Limited. According to the ED, these full-fledged money changers (FFMCs) were found to be running unauthorised foreign exchange operations.
The raids led to the recovery of incriminating documents, mobile phones, and laptops containing records of unlawful foreign currency transactions. The ED also seized ₹11.99 lakh in unaccounted Indian cash and foreign currency worth approximately ₹26.77 lakh.
An earlier inspection by the Reserve Bank of India, Hyderabad, had exposed serious violations, including Know Your Customer (KYC) documents without corresponding travel tickets, fictitious traveller names, forged flight details, and manipulated signatures. Several fake and duplicate flight tickets were also seized. The inspections revealed that most forex sales were recorded against travel to countries such as Indonesia, Maldives, Thailand, and Sri Lanka, where no visa is required. Following these findings, the FFMCs surrendered their RBI licences in June and July this year.
Despite this, ED officials said that Prism Forex, Victory Forex, and Digital Forex continued their illegal operations, even displaying forged RBI licences on their premises. Officials said further investigation is under way.
Published – October 17, 2025 06:50 pm IST
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