Two days after filing a money laundering case in connection with the crime that occurred abroad, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched Simran Preet Panesar’s Mohali home on Friday. Panesar is a major suspect in Canada’s largest-ever gold robbery.
According to an official with knowledge of the situation, “As part of our money laundering investigation, our team is conducting raids at Panesar’s home in Mohali.” They’ll question him.
Invoking section 2 (1) (RA) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which permits it to take up cases with cross-border consequences, where the crime was committed by an Indian abroad, the ED has initiated an inquiry, according to an exclusive story published by The Ultimate News on February 19.
In April 2023, a 22.5 million Canadian dollar (CAD) theft from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport prompted the financial crimes investigation agency to suo motu register an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), which is the ED’s equivalent of a first information report, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) without any request from Canada.
According to officers with knowledge of the situation, the plan is to look into whether the gold or its profits ended up in India.
Using fictitious documentation, an air freight container containing gold bars was taken from a secure storage facility on April 17, 2023. In addition to foreign currency worth 2.5 million CAD, the pilfered container included 6,600 bars.9999 pure gold weighing 400 kg and valued at approximately 20 million CAD.
An Air Canada flight from Zurich, Switzerland, to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport brought the gold and cash. The gold bars were headed to a Toronto bank and were owned by a Swiss precious metals refining firm. The cargo was unloaded and taken to another area on the airport grounds shortly after the plane touched down. It was reported missing to the police a day later.
In April 2024, Panesar and eight other people were charged by the Peel Regional Police (PRP), who issued an arrest warrant against him after calling the robbery the biggest gold heist in Canadian history. He worked at the airport’s warehousing facility and resided in Brampton with another accused, Parampal Sidhu.
In 2024, PRP revealed that Panesar even granted the police a tour of the warehouse following the crime. Panesar disappeared in May 2024, while Sidhu was taken into custody by the Peel Police.
The gold has not yet been retrieved by Canadian officials. Only 90,000 CAD is known to have been recovered by PRP out of the stolen cargo.