Simran Preet Panesar, one of the nine suspects in the daring $20 million gold heist that took place at Canada’s Pearson Airport in April 2023, allegedly received Rs 8.5 crore worth of hawala payments in several tranches once he arrived back in India, The Indian Express has learnt.
Days after the report, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had conducted raids and subsequently lodged an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in the case.
“Evidence” collected from Panesar’s confiscated telephone yielded crucial leads for the probe agency, ED officials said, adding that he and his wife arrived in Mohali around three months after the heist, following which he allegedly received sizable hawala payments.
A Look Out Circular (LOC) has been obtained by the ED to prevent Panesar from leaving the country and, officials said, additional details of the gold heist and his alleged role are awaited from the Peel Regional Police, which is investigating the case in Canada. Since the predicate offence was committed in Canada, the ED has used Section 2(1)(ra) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which deals with offences with cross-border implications.
According to ED officials in Delhi and Chandigarh, their calculations indicate Panesar allegedly received Rs 8.5 crore worth of hawala payments in several tranches. Telephone calls and messages were traced to a hawala operator in Chandigarh. And while the operator has escaped the dragnet, his employees have been questioned, and diaries with details of alleged hawala payments have been seized and are now a crucial piece of evidence, officials said. The hawaladar was using the cover of running a medical store as well as a money exchange, it is learnt.
The suspected vehicle was used during the heist. (Photo Credit: Peel Regional Police )
It is learnt that the hawala diaries detail payments received from Canada, USA, Australia, Singapore and the UK between November 2023 and February 2025. “While the diaries give valuable details of the extent of hawala payments, how much of the payments were proceeds of crime is difficult to say until the main hawaladar is traced,” an official said.
Story continues below this ad
Earlier this week, the action of the ED was challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on jurisdictional grounds. Panesar’s lawyer, Damanbir Singh Sobti, told The Indian Express, “We have filed a writ challenging the Enforcement Case Information Report under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. No offence has been committed in India, and no request for mutual assistance has come from Canada. Besides this, there is no proof that he is a wanted man in Canada.’’
The lawyer added that they had just learnt that there was a Look Out Circular (LOC) issued in Panesar’s name at Indian airports, which they intend to challenge in court.
The ED had conducted searches on February 22 this year, days after The Indian Express had tracked down Panesar at his residence. At the time, Panesar had declined to give any “on record” comments, citing “legal reasons.”
The heist
The heist, described as Canada’s largest, saw a consignment of 6,600 gold bars weighing 400 kg and valued at around $20 million stolen from the Pearson International Airport’s cargo facility after being offloaded from a Zurich flight. Subsequently, Panesar, who was working as a supervisor in the cargo section’s operations control, was described as one of the nine “suspects” in the case.
Story continues below this ad
The Canada police reports described Panesar as “an Air Canada employee, who searched for and identified the incoming shipment” and “also manipulated the Air Cargo system to facilitate the physical removal of the container.”
The investigation report alleges, “He was integral (to the heist). You need him. He is crucial to this, absolutely crucial. He is on top of the food chain.”
