New Delhi, Aug 26 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday searched premises related to real estate company BPTP across the Delhi-NCR region as part of a foreign exchange violation case involving funds of about Rs 500 crore, official sources said.

The multiple locations of the Faridabad-based Business Parks Town Planners Private Limited (BPTP) were searched under provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), they said.

The company could not be contacted immediately for a response on the ED action.

A probe found that BPTP received foreign investment of more than Rs 500 crore under the "automatic route" from foreign companies based in Mauritius during 2007-2008 through put option/swap option in "contravention" of the existing FEMA rules and regulations, according to ED sources.

They alleged that company CMD Kabul Chawla anonymously held foreign assets. Multiple FIRs registered against the company and its directors across various police stations in Delhi-NCR are a subject of the ED probe. PTI NES MIN MIN

Foreign exchange violation prompts searches under FEMA for alleged misuse of the automatic route and derivative options. Searches were conducted by the Enforcement Directorate under the Foreign Exchange Management Act against Business Parks Town Planners Private Limited (BPTP) on allegations that foreign investment from Mauritius during 2007-2008 was routed through put option and swap option mechanisms while claiming the automatic route, purportedly in contravention of FEMA rules; the probe also examines alleged anonymous foreign asset holdings by the company's chairperson and multiple FIRs against the company and its directors.