ED books Ramdev for FEMA violation!

For LEED Consultancy / IGBC Certifications, Green Building Design, Green Homes, Green Factory Buildings, Green SEZs, Green Townships & Energy Audits - www.greentekindika.com

Courtesy:  PTI / The Hindu / NEW DELHI, September 1, 2011.

Baba Ramdev. File Photo - PTI.

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his Haridwar-based trusts have been booked by the Enforcement Directorate in a case of alleged foreign exchange violation, official sources said on Thursday.

The Directorate registered the case on the basis of a report from the RBI and inputs from abroad on "suspicious" financial transactions done by Mr. Ramdev's trusts, they said.

The ED had earlier allegedly found foreign remittances and inflow of certain funds during its discreet probe in the case and the action has now been taken under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the sources said.

Efforts to repeatedly contact Mr. Ramdev's spokesperson did not succeed.

In connection with its probe into Mr. Ramdev's finances, the ED had approached authorities in the U.K. seeking financial details about an island in Scotland that was 'gifted' to the Yoga guru by a couple who are among his followers.

The Little Cumbrae Island, off the fishing town of Largs in Scotland, serves as Ramdev's base overseas and also as a wellness centre. The Directorate has asked the authorities in the U.K. to help it get inputs on funding-related aspects of the island, the sources said.

The ED's probe is aimed at checking the flow of money and transactions through various trusts floated by Mr. Ramdev including the Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust, Divya Yoga Mandir Trust and Bharat Swabhiman Trust, they said.

The agency had also approached officials in the island nation of Madagascar.