Page 25 - Enforcement Directorate

Actor Tamannaah Bhatia questioned by ED in HPZ token money laundering probe

Reports indicate that Tamannaah Bhatia was said to have received payments for a 'celebrity appearance' at an event for the app company, but there are no 'incriminating' allegations against her

ED conducts multi-city raids in Gujarat in money laundering, GST fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted multi-city searches in Gujarat in connection with a money laundering case linked to a GST "fraud" in which eight people, including a journalist, were arrested recently by the state police, official sources said. About 23 premises in cities of Rajkot, Junagadh, Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar and Veraval were being raided by the federal agency after a case was filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. Premises linked to arrested journalist Mahesh Langa, who works with The Hindu newspaper, were also being covered. The money laundering case stems from an FIR of the Ahmedabad Police Crime Branch. The city Crime Branch registered the FIR against several persons and entities after getting a complaint from the Central GST over an alleged scam involving shell firms set up to defraud the government through bogus input tax credits and fraudulent transactions. Langa along with seven others was arrested after the Central

Rs 15 cr from 'Valmiki scam' used to influence voters in 2024 elections: ED

Additional funds were deposited into personal accounts linked to Nagendra's associates, including Punith Kumar and Kali Harish, for personal expenses such as flight bookings, vehicle maintenance

ED raids IAS officer, others in Jal Jeevan Mission case in Jharkhand

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday conducted searches in connection with a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme's implementation in poll-bound Jharkhand, official sources said. More than 20 locations in Ranchi are being covered as part of the probe. Some locations in Chaibasa in West Singhbhum district were also raided, the sources said. Premises linked to IAS officer Manish Ranjan, a personal staffer of drinking water and sanitation minister Mithilesh Kumar Thakur, his brother, some government officials, contractors and businessmen are being searched by the federal probe agency, they said. Ranjan is the secretary of the Land, Road and Building department and has been questioned by the ED earlier in a separate money laundering case in which it arrested former minister Alamgir Alam. Thakur charged that the raids are "politically motivated" as he refused to "buckle under pressure" of the saffron brigade to join the BJP. Alleging

ED arrests 2 directors of Delhi-based multi-national rice firm under PMLA

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has arrested two directors of a Delhi-based rice company under the anti-money laundering law in a bank-loan fraud case of Rs 1,200 crore involving a consortium of lenders led by the Canara Bank. Aparna Puri and Rahul Sood, also the key managerial persons of Amira Pure Foods Private Limited (APFPL), were taken into custody on October 8. A special court dealing with cases lodged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Delhi sent them to the ED's custody till October 11, the federal agency said in a statement. The money-laundering case stems from a 2020 FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against APFPL, Karan A Chanana, Radhika Chanana, Anita Daing, Aparna Puri, Rahul Sood and others for allegedly committing fraud, criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, cheating etc. and causing wrongful loss to the tune of Rs 1,201.85 crore to the consortium of banks. According to the ED, "key accuse

Karnataka Cong MLA Nagendra 'mastermind' of multi-crore Valmiki scam: ED

Karnataka Congress MLA B Nagendra is the "mastermind" behind the multi-crore Valmiki Corporation alleged scam and the funds diverted from this state government entity were also used for a candidate who contested the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year, the ED claimed Wednesday. The federal agency said it has filed a prosecution complaint or charge sheet in this case sometime ago before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Bengaluru. The court has taken cognisance of the charge sheet, it said. "B Nagendra, MLA and former Minister for Scheduled Tribal Affairs, has been named as the primary accused and mastermind behind the scam, allegedly orchestrating it with the help of 24 others, including key associates like Satyanarayana Varma, Etakari Satyanarayana, J.G. Padmanabha, Nageshwar Rao, Nekkenti Nagaraj, and Vijay Kumar Gowda," the Enforcement Directorate said in a statement. Nagendra was arrested by the ED in this case. The agency claimed its probe found that .

Money laundering case: Shilpa Shetty, husband challenge ED notices in HC

Actor Shilpa Shetty and her businessman husband Raj Kundra have moved the Bombay High Court challenging ED's notice directing them to vacate their house in Mumbai's Juhu area and a farmhouse in Pune in connection with a money-laundering case. The pleas came up for hearing on Wednesday before a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan. The court issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and posted the matter for hearing on Thursday. Their petitions challenge ED notices dated September 27 issued to Shetty and Kundra directing them to evict their residential premises here and a farmhouse in Pune within ten days in connection with a money-laundering case linked to an alleged Bitcoin fraud. The couple's advocate Prashant Patil said that Shetty and Kundra received the eviction notices only on October 3. He termed the notices arbitrary and illegal and sought them to be quashed. According to the pleas, there is no grave urgency for the petitioners to vac

Ex-India captain Azharuddin appears before ED in HCA money laundering case

Former Indian cricket team captain and Congress leader Mohammed Azharuddin Tuesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities in the Hyderabad Cricket Association, official sources said. The federal agency will question him and record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. The 61-year-old former Member of Parliament was asked to first depose before the agency at its office here on Fateh Maidan Road on October 3 but he sought a fresh date and was hence summoned on October 8. The probe is related to alleged financial irregularities in the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) in which the ED had conducted searches in November last year. Azharuddin's role during his tenure as the HCA president is under the scanner of the agency, the sources had said. There was no immediate response from the former Indian skipper, who unsuccessfully contested the assembly polls held

Land-for-jobs case: Delhi court grants bail to Lalu Prasad Yadav and sons

RJD chief and former railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and his sons, Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, were granted bail on a surety of Rs 1 lakh each

ED office or mortgaged asset? Legal battle over Rs 120 cr Rajokri property

The property is currently at the centre of a legal dispute with Union Bank of India, challenging its confiscation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act

MUDA case: Complainant appears before ED to give evidence, produce records

Social activist Snehamayi Krishna, one of the complainants in the alleged MUDA 'scam' case, appeared before the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) here on Thursday to give evidence and produce records in connection with the investigation initiated by the federal agency, sources said. The ED on September 30 registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), equivalent to an FIR by police, against the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the alleged irregularities in allotment of 14 sites to his wife Parvathi B M by the MUDA (Mysuru Urban Development Authority). The ED, which had taken cognisance of the FIR registered against the Chief Minister by the Lokayukta police on September 27, had summoned the Mysuru-based RTI activist to appear in person before the investigation officer at Bengaluru Zonal Office of the ED to give evidence and produce records in connection with the probe or proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, the sources said. Based on Krishna's ...

MUDA scam: Karnataka CM questions ED for money laundering case against him

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday questioned the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) slapping a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case against him, maintaining that the MUDA issue does not attract its provisions. I don't know on what grounds it's a money laundering case. Probably you too feel the same. According to me, it does not attract the money laundering case because compensatory sites were given. So, how is it a money laundering case? Siddaramaiah told reporters here. On Monday, the ED registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), equivalent to an FIR by police, against the Chief Minister over the alleged irregularities in allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the MUDA (Mysuru Urban Development Authority). The ED has invoked relevant sections of the PMLA against the Chief Minister and others in the ECIR. The Chief Minister also ruled out the possibility of his resignation over the MUDA case. I work with conscience. So there is no need for me to

ED books Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah in MUDA-linked money-laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday booked Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and some others in a money-laundering case linked to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority, taking cognisance of a recent state Lokayukta FIR, official sources said. The federal agency has filed an enforcement case information report (ECIR) to book the chief minister and others, they said. Siddaramaiah, his wife B M Parvathi, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy and Devaraju -- from whom Swamy had purchased land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others have been named in the FIR registered by the Mysuru-located Lokayukta police establishment on September 27. The FIR was lodged after a special court in Bengaluru last week ordered a Lokayukta police probe against Siddaramaiah in the case. The order of the special court judge came a day after the high court upheld the sanction granted by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to conduct an investigation against the senior Congress leader on allegations of illegaliti

Burman family pushes for removal of Religare Chairperson Rashmi Saluja

Rashmi Saluja faces calls for removal ahead of key shareholders' meeting amid insider trading allegations and ED investigation

ED searches Telangana minister Reddy's premises in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday raided multiple premises linked to Telangana revenue minister P Srinivasa Reddy and some others as part of a money laundering case linked to an alleged smuggling racket of more than Rs 100 crore, official sources said. About five premises in the state, including Hyderabad, are being searched, they said. The money laundering case stems from a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) complaint against Reddy's son, Harsha Reddy of the Raghav Group, who is alleged to have purchased seven watches worth Rs 7 crore. The payments for these are linked to an alleged hawala and crypto currency racket worth Rs 100 crore and a man named A Naveen Kumar is under the scanner of the ED. Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, a Congress leader, is the minister for Revenue, Housing, Information and Public Relations in the Telangana government.

Constitutional courts can't allow PMLA provisions to become ED's tools: SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday said constitutional courts cannot allow provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act to become instruments in the hands of the Enforcement Directorate to continue incarceration for a long time. The top court said when the trial of the complaint under PMLA is likely to prolong beyond reasonable limits, the constitutional courts will have to consider exercising their powers to grant bail. "The reason is that section 45(1)(ii) (of PMLA) does not confer power on the State to detain an accused for an unreasonably long time, especially when there is no possibility of trial concluding within a reasonable time. "What a reasonable time is will depend on the provisions under which the accused is being tried and other factors. One of the most relevant factors is the duration of the minimum and maximum sentence for the offence," a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih said. The observations of the apex court came while granting bail to forme

ED files reply to bail plea of Satyendar Jain, hearing set for next week

Advocate Vivek Jain appeared for Satyendar Jain and informed the court that the reply has been received an hour ago

RG Kar case: ED summons TMC MLA Sudipta Roy for questioning, says official

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned TMC MLA Sudipta Roy for questioning in a money laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities in the Kolkata-based R G Kar Hospital and Medical College, official sources said Thursday. Roy is the president of the West Bengal Medical Council and also holds charge of the R G Kar Patient's Welfare Committee. He has been questioned by the CBI in this case as it is also probing the alleged irregularities. The premises of the MLA from Serampore apart from that of some others, was searched hy the ED on Tuesday. Roy has been asked to appear at the ED office in Kolkata on Thursday for questioning in the case, the sources said. The CBI has arrested former principal of the hospital Dr Sandip Ghosh and three of his alleged associates in this case. The ED case filed under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) stems from the CBI FIR. These irregularities surfaced after the alleged rape and murder of a 31-year-old w

Delhi Court discharges Ambience Group promoter Raj Singh Gehlot in ED case

Raj Singh Gehlot, promoter of the Ambience Group, was arrested on July 28, 2021, in connection with the money laundering case related to alleged bank loan fraud

ED attaches assets worth Rs 43.52 cr in fraud case linking Ushdev Int'l

ED initiated the investigation on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under various sections of the Indian Penal Code