Page 24 - Enforcement Directorate

Coal levy 'scam': SC extends interim bail of ex-Chhattisgarh CM's dy secy

The Supreme Court on Thursday extended the interim bail of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel's deputy secretary Saumya Chaurasia, an accused in a money laundering case linked to an alleged coal-levy scam. The apex court had on September 25 granted her interim bail, noting that she had already undergone custody of more than one year and nine months and charges were yet to be framed. The matter came up for hearing before a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan. The bench sought to know about the current status of the case. Senior advocate Siddhartha Dave, appearing for Chaurasia, said the trial has not yet commenced. "Interim bail to continue," the bench said and posted the matter for hearing in the last week of January. The top court was hearing Chaurasia's plea challenging an August 28 order of the Chhattisgarh High Court which had denied her bail. In its September 25 order, the apex court had directed the state government not to reinstate her in service

ED team conducting raids in cyber fraud case attacked in Delhi, 1 detained

An Enforcement Directorate team undertaking searches in a cyber fraud linked money laundering case was allegedly attacked here on Thursday, officials said. The agency has registered a police FIR about the incident that took place at a farmhouse that was raided by ED officials in the Bijwasan area of the national capital that falls under the Kapashera police station in southwest Delhi. An Enforcement Officer (EO) suffered minor injuries during the attack. He is continuing with the searches after he was given first aid, officials said. The probe pertains to a case against the PYYPL app. The alleged accused in the case, including Ashok Sharma and his brother, allegedly attacked the ED team. The situation is under control and searches are going on, the sources said. The search operations, according to sources, has been launched after the ED got inputs from the I4C and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) about cyber crimes like phishing, QR code cheating, part time job fraud leading

'ED's conviction rate very poor', says SC in Partha Chatterjee bail plea

Earlier in August, the Supreme Court had questioned the 'quality of prosecution and evidence' garnered in cases related to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, by the Directorate of Enforcement

Cash-for-jobs scam: SC notes trial yet to start, witnesses to be examined

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Chatterjee, informed the top court that his client was in jail for nearly 2.5 years, 183 witnesses are in the case and the trial is yet to start

SC questions ED over low conviction rate in money laundering cases

The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the ED over the low rate of convictions in money laundering cases, wondering for how long former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, arrested over alleged irregularities in academic staff recruitment in the state, could be kept in jail. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said Chatterjee has been incarcerated for over two years and the trial in the case was yet to commence. "What will happen if we don't grant bail? Trial is yet to commence, there are 183 witnesses in the cases. Trial will take time...How long can we keep him? That is the question. Here is a case where more than two years have gone. How to strike balance in such case?" the bench asked Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing ED. The top court remarked it also couldn't ignore that the allegations against the former minister were serious in nature and asked, "Mr Raju, if ultimately he is not convicted, what will happen? Waiting for 2.5-3 years is not

Bank loan 'fraud' case: ED raids ex-directors, promoters of Kwality Ltd

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches at multiple locations in Delhi and adjoining areas as part of an alleged bank loan fraud linked money laundering probe against former promoters of liquidated dairy major Kwality Ltd, official sources said. About a dozen places are being raided under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. The money laundering case stems from a 2020 FIR of the CBI against Kwality Ltd and its directors filed in September, 2020 for allegedly cheating a consortium of 10 banks, led by the Bank of India, for an amount over Rs 1,400 crore through alleged bloating of financial statements and diversion of loan funds. The premises of the former promoters of the company, directors and other key persons are being searched, the sources said. Kwality Ltd. started as an ice-cream manufacturing company and diversified into milk-based products. Its former directors include Sanjay Dhingra, Siddhant Gupta, Arun ...

Manish Sisodia seeks SC's relief on bail condition in Delhi excise case

Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia has approached the Supreme Court seeking relaxation of his bail condition that requires him to appear before the investigating officer twice a week

Delhi HC stays Aircel-Maxis case against Chidambaram, seeks ED's reply

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday stayed the trial court proceedings against senior Congress leader P Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate. The high court also issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and sought its response on Chidambaram's petition challenging the trial court's order taking cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the agency against him and his son Karti in the money laundering case. "Notice issued. Till the next date of hearing, the proceedings against the petitioner shall remain stayed. List on January 22," Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri said, adding that he will pass a detailed order later. Senior advocate N Hariharan and lawyers Arshdeep Singh Khurana and Akshat Gupta, representing Chidambaram, contended that the special judge took cognisance of the chargesheet for the alleged offence of money laundering in the absence of any sanction for prosecution of the former Union minister who was a public servant when the offence w

Delhi HC seeks ED's reply on Satyendra Jain's plea to delay trial hearing

It further stated that as per the status report of the CBI in the predicate offence, further investigation regarding multiple transactions by collection of records from numerous departments

ED probes Amazon, Flipkart over ties with top sellers, alleges FEMA breach

The ED has reportedly quizzed the 'top' five sellers of both firms and found that many are former employees or relatives of former associates of Amazon and Flipkart

ED shifts focus to Amazon and Flipkart ties with preferred sellers

Under India's FDI rules, e-commerce platforms are prohibited from exercising control over vendors and are required to operate solely as neutral intermediaries

Pressure from ED, CBI forced Delhi minister Kailash Gahlot to quit: AAP

Following the resignation of senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi minister Kailash Gahlot, the party has accused the BJP of using central investigative agencies to coerce its leaders. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh alleged that Gahlot's resignation was the result of "dirty politics" and a targeted campaign of raids and probes by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Gahlot quit AAP on Sunday and tendered his resignation from the Delhi Cabinet, citing recent controversies facing the party and unfulfilled promises made to people. His decision to step down marks a significant blow to AAP, especially as he played a key role in election planning for the party in Delhi. Gahlot's exit comes just months before the Delhi assembly elections, intensifying political tensions between AAP and the BJP. "Pressure was created on Kailash Gahlot through ED and CBI raids, and now, he is speaking according to the BJP's script," Singh said at a press

'No prosecution sanction': AAP's Amanatullah Khan granted bail in ED case

Directing Khan be released on a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh, Special Judge Jitendra Singh of Rouse Avenue court said that there was sufficient evidence to proceed but no prosecution sanction obtained

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