The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday raided Hero MotoCorp CEO Pawan Munjal’s residence after it took cognisance of a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) case. The DRI recently apprehended one of Munjal’s close aides in possession of undeclared foreign currency. 

Officials told news agency PTI that these raids against Munjal are a part of a money laundering probe. Earlier this year, the Income Tax department carried out raids at Hero MotoCorp premises in Delhi-NCR. 

In March last year, the Income Tax department conducted search operations across 25 premises including Hero MotoCorp offices and at the chairman’s residence as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion against the firm.   Hero MotoCorp shares are down 4 per cent to trade at 3,066 apiece at the BSE at the time of writing this story.

Pawan Munjal led Hero MotoCorp’s global expansion after Hero broke up with Honda in 2011. He also holds executive positions in industry bodies– Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Society Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).  

Hero MotoCorp became the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer in 2001 in terms of unit volume sales in a calendar year. The two-wheeler manufacturer has maintained this title for the two consecutive decades. 

The two-wheeler manufacturer has its presence in around 40 countries in Asia, Africa, and South and Central America.