Staff on one of Goa’s casino cruise ships reportedly assaulted officials from the Directorate of Enforcement during a mandated search because they believed the officials to be con men.
Local media reports claim the officials, who were trying to question staff and examine documents and financial transactions on Casino Pride – owned and operated by the Pride Group – were forced to call state police for assistance.
The Directorate of Enforcement is a multi-disciplinary organization mandated with investigating potential instances money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws.
Officials are said to have landed in Goa from Karnataka last Wednesday but allegedly faced resistance from casino staff.
“During the raid, the casino staff obstructed and stopped ED officials from conducting the searches,” a senior police official is quoted as saying. “Some of the casino’s security assumed that some con men were posing as ED officials and trying to dupe them. This led to an argument between them.”
Another official is quoted as saying, “The staff assaulted [the] team. The officials were confined in a room while conducting searches at the premises on Thursday afternoon.
“The ED has also accused the casino director and staff of destroying the evidence the team had collected during their search in connection with a money laundering case.”
The officials reportedly resumed their raid following intervention from police.
Casino Pride is one of six offshore casinos moored on Goa’s Mandovi River.
The raid comes at a challenging time for India’s casino industry, which is currently engaged in a legal battle against certain authorities in relation to historical tax claims.
Earlier this year, India’s only listed gaming operator Delta Corp – which operates three of Goa’s offshore casinos – revealed it had received from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence in Hyderabad an intimation for payment of a shortfall in tax amounting to 11,400 crore (US$1.34 billion) – roughly three times its total market cap. The matter is currently before the courts.
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