New Delhi | The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it has seized Rs 2.90 crore cash in foreign and Indian currencies, following raids against a network of hawala operators and illegal forex dealers in Kerala early this week.

The searches were conducted at 14 locations on June 19 under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, the probe agency said in a statement.

The ED said the searches were conducted following inputs that hawala operations were being conducted at these premises in the guise of forex money exchange, gifts, textile, jewellery and ready-made garments shops.

Hawala denotes illegal and fraudulent KYC-based monetary transactions through both banking and non-banking channels.

Currencies of 15 countries worth about Rs 1.50 crore and "unaccounted" Indian currency of about Rs 1.40 crore, generated from illegal foreign currency exchange, were seized during the operation, the agency said.

Some of the entities that have been identified by the ED as "key players" in the alleged hawala network and were covered as part of the search were Suresh Forex, Ettumanoor Forex, Dubai Forex, Sangeetha foreign exchange, Crescent Trading, Hana Trading, Fornas Forex Pvt Ltd and their key managerial persons.

These persons and entities, the ED alleged, conducted an illegal exchange of foreign currency and were also involved in arranging cross-border payments to Dubai, the USA and Canada through hawala, bypassing legal banking channels.

The operators "admitted" illegal forex dealings without taking KYC (know your customer) or issuing bills. The voice memos and WhatsApp conversations retrieved from the devices of these persons revealed the modus operandi of the hawala operations which runs into crores of rupees, the agency said.