Page 12 - Enforcement Directorate

ED arrests two people in money-laundering case against Sahara Group

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday said it has arrested two persons, an executive director of Sahara Group chairman's core management team and a long-time associate of the group cum property broker, as part of a money-laundering probe against the Sahara Group and its linked entities. The individuals taken into custody have been identified as Vailaparampil Abraham and Jitendra Prasad Verma, respectively. Abraham played a "key role" in coordinating and facilitating the sale of Sahara Group properties, many of which involved "substantial unaccounted" cash components that were allegedly siphoned off. Verma was "actively involved" in executing several of these property transactions and knowingly assisted in routing large "cash" proceeds generated from these sale transactions, thereby contributing to the concealment and dissipation of the "proceeds of crime", the central agency said in a statement. The ED said it came across "incriminating" evidence, during searches conducted in .

New special PMLA courts to expedite money laundering trials, says ED

The Enforcement Directorate on Sunday said it will be able to "significantly accelerate" trials in money laundering cases with the recent notification of special PMLA courts in various states. "In Telangana, a total of 16 special courts have now been notified, including two for Visakhapatnam. In Rajasthan, the number of such courts has been increased from one (earlier only at Jaipur) to five, including one for Jodhpur," the federal probe agency said in a statement. In Goa, it said, an exclusive special court to initiate trials in criminal cases registered and probed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been notified in North Goa. Till now, there was only one such special court for Goa, the ED said. The courts have been notified in those states where the number of such judicial forums were "inadequate" leading to "delays" in trial proceedings, according to the ED. "With the addition of these special courts, the Directorate (ED) will be able to significantly ...

ED raids Haryana firm linked to illegal betting, freezes ₹284 crore assets

ED has frozen ₹284 crore worth of deposits and shares of Haryana-based Probo Media Technologies in a money laundering probe linked to illegal online betting and gambling through its app and website

ED cracks down on opinion trading platform Probo, freezes ₹284.5 crore

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) freezes ₹284.5 crore worth of assets in its crackdown on Probo, an opinion trading platform. The company assures co-operation with ongoing law enforcement inquiries

ED probes 29 actors, influencers under PMLA for promoting betting apps

Actors Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj reportedly endorsed or appeared in promotional material for apps such as Junglee Rummy, JeetWin, and Lotus365, which violates betting regulations

Delhi HC seeks ED response to Kejriwal's plea in excise policy case

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the Enforcement Directorate's response on a plea by AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal challenging a sessions court order upholding the summons issued to him in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam in the capital. Justice Ravinder Dudeja issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the petition and asked it to file the counter affidavit within six weeks. At the outset, the ED's counsel raised a preliminary objection over the maintainability of the petition and contended that this petition was in the form of second revision petition filed under the garb of a Section 482 (inherent power of high court) CrPC petition, which was not permissible. The high court asked the ED's counsel to mention all his objections, including preliminary objection, in his reply and listed the matter for hearing on September 10. Kejriwal has challenged a special court order dated September 17, 2024, by which his revision petition agains

ED raids in several Punjab, Haryana cities in 'donkey route' case

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches in multiple cities of Punjab and Haryana as part of a money laundering investigation into a 'donkey route' case related to illegal Indian immigrants who were deported by the US this year, official sources said. Offices and houses of suspects and agents in at least 11 cities in the two states -- Amritsar, Sangrur, Patiala and Moga in Punjab and Ambala, Kurukshetra and Karnal in Haryana-- are being raided under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. The money laundering case stems from 17 FIRs registered by Punjab and Haryana police departments against the travel/visa agents and middlemen who cheated various persons willing to go to the US illegally, they said. A number of Indians from these two states and few others were deported onboard US military planes in February this year and the agency later recorded the statements of few deportees. These statements and some linked investigation threw up the

ED attaches luxury yacht, properties in Spain in case against OctaFX

This is the second instance when the offshore properties have been attached in this case. Previously, the probing agency attached 19 properties in Spain and other assets worth ₹296 crore

Actor Mahesh Babu served legal notices in ₹34 lakh plot fraud case

Mahesh Babu, who endorsed Sai Surya Developers, has been served legal notices after a Hyderabad-based doctor alleged she was duped of ₹34 lakh in a non-existent plot scam

Insolvency law cannot override PMLA, ED attachment to stay, says NCLAT

Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code cannot override the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), said appellate tribunal NCLAT, adding assets of an debt-ridden firm once attached by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and confirmed by competent authority cannot be released for its resolution. Under section 14 of IBC, a moratorium is applied on those assets for the purpose of resolution. However, if the property is alleged to be "proceeds of crime" and is already under adjudication by competent authority under a penal statute, such property cannot be deemed to be part of the freely available resolution estate, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) said. The appellate tribunal held that if there is any attachment by ED under the PMLA, which is "validly made and confirmed, it cannot be undone under IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code). Citing section 238 of IBC, which has an overriding effect over other laws, a three-member NCLAT bench said it "cannot override the PMLA in ...

Court declares arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari 'fugitive economic offender'

Delhi court declares UK-based arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari a fugitive economic offender under FEOA. UK recently denied his extradition to India

ED raids 8 places in J'khand in money laundering case against Yogendra Sao

The raids have been underway since early morning in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh and Ranchi, based on an ongoing investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), official sources told ANI

Former aide of CM Soren behind ₹1,000 cr illegal mining syndicate: ED

A former representative of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren leveraged "political influence" to mastermind an illegal mining syndicate in the state that generated proceeds of crime worth Rs 1,000 crore, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Wednesday. The federal agency said in a statement that it has made these charges in a fresh prosecution complaint (chargesheet) filed in this case on June 30 before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ranchi. "The current complaint brings to light the roles of eight additional individuals and two companies, who have been found to be integral to the criminal network orchestrated by Pankaj Mishra, the then political representative of the chief minister of Jharkhand," the ED claimed. Mishra was arrested by the ED in July 2022 after raids were conducted against him and some others. He was the political representative of Soren in his assembly constituency of Barhait in Sahibganj district. Soren has always maintained th

Sonia, Rahul Gandhi wanted to usurp ₹2,000 cr AJL company: ED to court

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday alleged Sonia and Rahul Gandhi wanted to usurp the assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), a Rs 2,000 crore company, the publisher of National Herald newspaper. Special judge Vishal Gogne was hearing the submissions on the point of cognisance in the National Herald case. Additional solicitor general S V Raju said a conspiracy was hatched to form Young Indian Private Limited in which the Gandhis held 76 per cent shares to usurp the assets of AJL, which took a Rs 90 crore loan from the All India Congress Committee (AICC) despite having assets worth in crores. Explaining the conspiracy, the ASG said, "AJL was not making profits but had assets worth Rs 2,000 crore. But they were finding it difficult to manage their daily affairs. If you are doing reasonably well, you cannot say, I am in loss, etc. You have to build a facade. Rs 90 crore loan was taken from the AlCC. They (AJL) said we cannot repay you (AICC). Ordinarily, any prudent person .

SC rejects Lalit Modi's plea seeking BCCI to pay ₹10.65 cr ED penalty

Supreme Court dismisses Lalit Modi's plea to make BCCI pay ₹10.65 crore Fema penalty; says he may pursue civil remedies

ED attaches Mahira Group assets worth ₹557 cr in money laundering case

The ED initiated the probe based on FIRs filed by Gurugram Police against Sai Aaina Farms Pvt. Ltd. and others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code

ED alleges cash scam in management quota admissions at 3 Bengaluru colleges

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday alleged that admission of students through the management quota in three Bengaluru-based private colleges was being done in an "opaque" manner using money, including funds in cash. The federal probe agency's statement comes after they conducted searches at 17 locations on June 25-26 in a "seat blocking scam" case. The raids were carried out at the premises of BMS College of Engineering, Akash Institute of Engineering and Technology, and New Horizon College of Engineering, along with those associated with these institutions, the agency said in a statement. A few entities engaged in educational consultancy services and some private agents were also raided. The ED case stems from a Karnataka Police FIR registered by the KEA (Karnataka Examination Authority) against these colleges. The complaint alleged that these colleges colluded with unknown individuals to acquire the login credentials of students registered with the KEA and subsequently bloc

ED searches 10 places in Delhi-NCR, Punjab in ₹988 crore loan fraud case

Central agency searches premises linked to Shilpi Cables and its managing director Manish Goel

ED raids in Delhi-NCR, Punjab in ₹988 crore bank loan 'fraud' case

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches at multiple premises in Delhi-NCR and Punjab as part of a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged Rs 988 crore bank loan fraud case, official sources said. The action is being undertaken against the promoters of a company, Shilpi Cables Technologies Ltd (SCTL), and some linked entities. Nine premises in Delhi-NCR and one in Jalandhar were part of the searches being conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. The money laundering case stems from a CBI FIR alleging cheating a consortium of banks led by the IDBI Bank to the tune of Rs 988 crore by the promoters of SCTL and their associates, they said. The ED suspects that a large portion of the money (loan) availed from the banks using LsC (Letters of Credit) were transferred abroad through "fake" transactions. The role of the company managing director (MD) Manish Goel is under the scanner of the agency, as per the sources.

ED raids in Gujarat, Maharashtra in cyber fraud probe over ₹100 cr scam

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches in Gujarat and Maharashtra as part of a money laundering investigation linked to fraudsters who allegedly committed cyber crimes like digital arrests and transferred funds of more than Rs 100 crore abroad, official sources said. The raids were conducted in Surat and Ahmedabad in Gujarat and in Mumbai by the Surat sub-zonal office of the federal probe agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The money laundering case stems from a Gujarat Police FIR against Makbul Doctor, Kaashif Doctor, Bassam Doctor, Mahesh Mafatlal Desai, Maaz Abdul Raheem Nada and some others, the sources said. The accused are alleged to have been involved in cheating general public through various cyber frauds such as fake USDT trading (crypto currency), digital arrests, threatening innocent individuals by sending fake notices of law enforcement agencies etc., they said. The money obtained from gullible persons through this cyber frau