Page 24 - Enforcement Directorate

ED launches new raids against 'lottery king' Santiago for money laundering

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted fresh searches against Chennai-based 'lottery king' Santiago Martin, the single biggest donor to political parties with over Rs 1,300 crore in electoral bonds, as part of a money laundering investigation, official sources said. The action comes after the Madras High Court recently allowed the ED to proceed against Martin as the Tamil Nadu Police had decided to close the predicate or primary FIR against him and a few others and a lower court accepted this police plea. Sources said multiple premises linked to Martin were being searched on Thursday in Chennai and some other places. The federal agency last year attached assets worth about Rs 457 crore in a case against Martin linked to an alleged loss of over Rs 900 crore to the Sikkim government by fraudulent sale of the state lottery in Kerala. Future Gaming Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. is the master distributor of Sikkim lotteries and the ED has been investigating Martin, known as the .

Day before Jharkhand polls, ED raids 17 places over 'illegal infiltration'

Jharkhand elections: The alleged infiltration of Bangladeshis is one of the main poll planks of the BJP, which is hoping to make a comeback in the state after the 2019 Assembly poll defeat

Excise policy: HC asks ED to respond to Kejriwal's plea challenging summons

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought response of the Enforcement Directorate on a plea by AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal challenging summons issued to him on the agency's complaint in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam. Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri refused to stay the trial in the criminal case and said the trial court's order, which has been challenged by Kejriwal, is two months old and not a fresh order. The high court issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the petition which has challenged the summons issued to the former chief minister of Delhi on the complaint filed by the agency in the case. Kejrwal's counsel questioned the maintainability of the complaint on the grounds that while summons was issued by one officer, the complaint was filed by another officer. The former Delhi chief minister has challenged a sessions court's September 17 order which had dismissed his plea challenging the summons. The ED's counsel raised preliminary objection on

ED restitutes property worth Rs 12.73 crore in Chennai's Saidapet Taluk

ED initiated investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Crime Branch

ED files complaint against 'conman' Kiran Patel, hearing on Nov 27

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Saturday it has filed a prosecution complaint against alleged Gujarat conman Kiran Patel before a special court here under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The court took cognisance of the prosecution complaint and issued a notice to the accused to appear on November 27, the agency said. On August 29 last year, a court here granted bail to Ahmedabad-resident Patel, who was arrested for allegedly posing as a top official in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in March to dupe people and secure undue advantages from the administration. The ED initiated investigation on the basis of an FIR registered at the Nishat Police Station in Srinagar against Patel and others under various sections of Indian Penal Code. "The investigation revealed that Patel, a conman, impersonated himself as Additional Director (Strategy and Campaigns), PMO and fraudulently created/printed fake visiting cards for faking his identity to fulfil his ulterior ...

ED searches 19 premises of Amazon, Flipkart vendors in Fema probe

A total of 19 premises of these "preferred" vendors located in Delhi, Gurugram and Panchkula (Haryana), Hyderabad (Telangana) and Bengaluru (Karnataka) were covered as part of the action, they said

Court asks ED to supply chargesheet to accused in Delhi excise policy case

Special Judge Kaveri Baweja directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to carry out the exercise by November 13, when the matter would be heard next

ED files charge sheet against cyber fraudsters as I4C issues new advisory

Close on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging people to guard against the menace of 'digital' arrests, probe agencies said they are taking action against this category of cyber crime with the ED filing a charge sheet in one such case and the I4C issuing a fresh advisory. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued a statement on Saturday, saying it filed a prosecution complaint before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Bengaluru last month against eight accused who allegedly "lured" common people through "fake" IPO allotments and stock market investments through fraudulent apps. "Probe found that a huge network of cyber scams in India, involving fake stock market investments and digital arrest schemes executed primarily through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram. "Known as 'pig-butchering' scams, stock market investment scams entice victims with promises of high returns, using fake websites and misleading WhatsAp

Returned assets of over Rs 185 cr to banks in loan fraud case, says ED

The Enforcement Directorate Wednesday said it has "returned" assets worth more than Rs 185 crore to a State Bank of India (SBI)-led consortium of banks which were allegedly cheated through a loan fraud by a Chandigarh-based pharma company. The case pertains to Surya Pharmaceutical Ltd., undergoing liquidation currently, its directors and promoters named Rajiv Goyal and Alka Goyal who caused "wrongful loss" worth Rs 828.50 crore to the banks, it said. The ED filed a criminal case against the accused company and its promoters taking cognisance of a CBI FIR. The agency said in a statement that loan was obtained by the company using "fabricated" documents such as invoices, transport details, lorry receipts etc. for issuance of Inland Letter of Credits (ILCs) and this money was subsequently "layered and siphoned off" by Surya Pharmaceutical Ltd. using a web of bank accounts of group companies and shell entities. This caused a loss of Rs 828.50 crore to the lending banks headed by SBI, i

ED chargesheets AAP lawmaker Amanatullah Khan in alleged Delhi Waqf Board

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday filed a chargesheet against AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan over money laundering charges in a case of alleged irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board. The 110-page supplementary chargesheet also named one Mariam Siddiqui, who was not arrested by the ED as an accused in the case. The court is likely to take it up for consideration on November 4. Khan was arrested by the ED on September 2 from his Okhla residence and is currently in judicial custody. Special judge Vishal Gogne on Tuesday posted his bail application for hearing on November 7.

ED conducts fresh raids in case of online betting, illegal IPL broadcast

The Enforcement Directorate said on Tuesday it has undertaken fresh searches in a money laundering case against a website that allegedly indulged in online betting on 2024 Lok Sabha election results apart from an illegal broadcast of IPL cricket matches. Cash, bank deposits and silver bars worth about Rs 4 crore were seized along with various other "incriminating" documents, digital devices and immovable property-related documents during the raids conducted on October 25 in Mumbai and in Kutch in Gujarat, the ED said in a statement. The action was taken against people providing technical and financial management support to the website named "Fairplay", which was allegedly involved in illegal activities. The money laundering case stems from an FIR of the Mumbai police cyber cell that was filed on the complaint of Viacom18 Media Pvt Limited against Fairplay Sport LLC and others for causing a loss of revenue of more than Rs 100 crore. The federal agency said its probe shows that Krish

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Ahead of Diljit Dosanjh's show, ED raids in 5 cities over illegal ticket sales

Tickets for Diljit Dosanjh's 'Dil-Luminati Tour' and the upcoming concerts of British band Coldplay in Mumbai sold out within minutes after being released to the Indian market

West Bengal staff recruitment scam: ED attaches properties worth Rs 163 cr

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Kolkata has provisionally attached properties over Rs 163.20 crore assets of Prasanna Kumar Roy, his wife Kajal Soni Roy, and their company, Shree Durga Dealcom Private Limited in connection with the West Bengal staff recruitment scam."Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Kolkata Zonal Office has provisionally attached hotels/resorts and immovable properties worth Rs 163.20 crore, in the Group 'C' & 'D' staff recruitment scam by the officials of WBCSSC in the State of West Bengal, held in the name of Prasanna Kumar Roy, the main middleman, his wife Kajal Soni Roy and Shree Durga Dealcom Private Limited, a company controlled and operated by Prasanna Kumar Roy," as per an official release.According to ED, the attached properties include five hotels/resorts, namely Chalankita Resort situated at Shyampur, Howrah, Royal Bengal Resort situated at Sundarbans, Hotel Mili (Rubina) situated at Digha, Hotel Murti situated at Jalpaiguri, Bamboo Village Resort

Enough evidence for PMLA case against Sachin Waze, others: Special court

A special court here, while rejecting dismissed policeman Sachin Waze's plea to turn approver in a money laundering case, has said the ED prima facie has sufficient evidence against him and other accused, and that there was no need for his help. By filing such an application, Waze admits to be "privy to the offence allegedly committed by the accused", special court judge A U Kadam hearing cases pertaining to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stated in the order passed on October 23. The other accused in the case, probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), includes former Maharashtra home minister and NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh. In the plea to turn approver (seek pardon) in the money laundering case, Waze had said that he wants to disclose all the facts pertaining to the case. His application was opposed by the ED, saying that prosecution under the PMLA is against the proceeds of crime with entirely different motives than the other prosecution agency. "Therefore, .

Maharashtra polls: Rs 52 cr worth assets seized within 24 hrs of MCC

Maharashtra Assembly Elections: Since the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct on October 15, goods valued Rs 90.74 crore have been seized across the state

MUDA 'scam' investigation: ED summons six MUDA employees for questioning

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his family have come under increased scrutiny follows allegations of corruption and land misappropriation

Question only during office hours, don't make people wait: ED to officers

The Enforcement Directorate has issued a fresh circular directing its officials or investigating officers (IOs) to not question people called on summons at "unearthly" hours and not keep them waiting for hours at their office. The technical circular was issued on October 11 after the Bombay High Court directed the federal agency to issue directives in this context as it took up the petition of a person who was summoned by the ED and "detained overnight and interrogated." The HC found that the 64-year-old petitioner was summoned to the ED office for questioning and was kept waiting post mid-night. Recording of his statement, at unearthly hours, "definitely results in deprivation of a person's sleep, basic human right of a individual", it said. The court said it "disapproved" of such a practice by the agency and directed it to issue a circular or directive to its IOs regarding timing and recording of statement of people following issuance of summons under section 50 of the Prevention

'PFI had more than 13,000 members in Singapore and Gulf countries': ED

The investigative agency mentioned on Friday that the PFI has formed well defined District Executive Committees (DECs) for the Non-Resident Muslim diaspora living in the Gulf Countries

PFI wanted to create Islamic movement, start civil war through 'jihad': ED

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said the Popular Front of India (PFI), a proscribed terrorist organisation, was working to create an Islamic movement in India through a "jihad" that included non-violent air raids and "guerilla theatre", apart from various methods of cruelty and subjugation. The federal agency issued a statement, saying it has attached fresh assets worth more than Rs 35 crore that are "beneficially-owned and controlled" by the PFI "in the name of various trusts, companies and individuals" as part of its ongoing probe against the outfit and entities linked to it. The PFI was banned by the Centre in September 2022 after the ED, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and various state police forces carried out countrywide raids against its office-bearers and establishments. The ED alleged that the real objectives of the PFI, formed in 2006 in Kerala but headquartered in Delhi, are "different" from the ones stated in its constitution. "Real objectives of PFI