Page 33 - Enforcement Directorate

Hemant Soren takes oath as Jharkhand Chief Minister after 5-month absence

Earlier today, Champai Soren resigned as Jharkhand Chief Minister, paving the way for Hemant Soren's return

ED arrests two in money laundering case linked to Chhattisgarh liquor scam

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has arrested two liquor businessmen in connection with its money laundering probe into an alleged excise scam of Chhattisgarh that is estimated to have generated over Rs 2,100 crore of slush funds. Arvind Singh and Trilok Singh Dhillon were arrested on July 1 at the central jail in Raipur and later a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court sent them to ED custody till July 6, the federal probe agency said in a statement. The two were lodged in jail after the Chhattisgarh Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) arrested them in the case sometime back. The money laundering case of the ED stemmed from an EOW/ACB FIR filed in January and had named 70 individuals and companies, including former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma, former chief secretary Vivek Dhand and others. The alleged scam, where the ED has pegged the proceeds of crime at Rs 2,161 crore, purportedly took place between 2019-2022 when the Congress was in power in

ED questions TV actors in 'unauthorised' fraud forex trading app case

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday recorded the statement of two television actors here as part of a money laundering investigation linked to the operations of an "illegal" online forex trading platform that is alleged to have duped investors to the tune of Rs 500 crore, official sources said. The sources said actors Krystel Dsouza and Karan Wahi were called for questioning in order to elicit information about some payments being made for promotions of the app named OctaFx which also had a website -- www.octafx.com. The statements of the two have been recorded as the ED is investigating this case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. Another TV actor and model Nia Sharma has also been summoned, the sources said. It is understood that the agency wants to understand the operations of the platform and these actors may not be seen as wrongdoers or accused. The money laundering case of the ED stems from a Pune Police (Shivaji Nagar poli

'Will move regular bail plea in graft case soon': Kejriwal to HC

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will soon move an application for regular bail in the corruption case related to the alleged excise scam, his lawyer informed the Delhi High Court on Tuesday. The court, meanwhile, asked the CBI to respond to his plea challenging his arrest in the case involving alleged graft. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna issued notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and asked it to file its reply within seven days. The high court said Kejriwal's counsel may file a rejoinder, if any, within two days thereafter. It listed the matter for arguments on July 17. Besides his arrest, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener has also challenged the trial court's June 26 and June 29 orders by which he was remanded in CBI custody for three days and judicial custody till July 12, respectively. Kejriwal, 55, was arrested by the CBI on June 26 from Tihar Jail, where he was in judicial custody in a connected money laundering case filed by the Enforcement ...

Highlights: BCCI announces cash prize of Rs 125 cr for Indian team for its T20 WC triumph

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BJP will be wiped out from Jharkhand after assembly polls: Hemant Soren

Former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Saturday slammed the BJP for allegedly hatching a conspiracy against him and claimed that the saffron party will be wiped out from the state after the upcoming assembly elections. Addressing JMM workers at his residence, Soren said there would be a "revolt against those who plotted the conspiracy" to confine him in jail and "people of Jharkhand would not spare the BJP". "Time has come to put the last nail in BJP's coffin. In coming days, the BJP will be wiped out from Jharkhand," the JMM executive president said. Soren was released on Friday from the Birsa Munda Jail after the state high court granted bail to him in a money laundering case, observing that he was prima facie not guilty, and there was no likelihood of the petitioner committing an offence on bail. The JMM leader was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on January 31 in connection with its investigation into the money laundering case linked to the illegal possessi

Money laundering: ED files fresh chargesheet in Delhi excise policy case

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday filed a fresh and the ninth charge sheet in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case naming a person called Vinod Chauhan as an accused, official sources said. Chauhan was arrested by the federal agency in May as part of this investigation. The sources said a fresh and the ninth prosecution complaint (charge sheet) was filed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court here naming Vinod Chauhan. He was the 18th person to have been arrested by the ED in this case in which it has also taken into custody Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, his party colleague and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh, BRS leader and former Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao's politician daughter K Kavitha and several liquor businessmen and others. The ED has mentioned the alleged role of Chauhan in this case in an official document submitted before a court in relation to t

ED arrests expelled DMK functionary in drugs-linked money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested sacked DMK functionary Jaffer Sadiq at the Tihar Jail in connection with a drugs linked money laundering investigation, official sources said Friday. The federal agency will soon take the 36-year-old to Chennai and produce him before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) seeking his remand for custodial interrogation, the sources said. Sadiq was arrested by the ED on June 26 at the Tihar Jail where he is lodged in judicial custody in a NCB case. A production warrant is being sought from a Delhi court following which he is expected to be taken to Chennai where the ED case is lodged, they said. The ED had earlier obtained the court's permission to question him in jail and he was taken into custody during this procedure. He was first arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in March for his alleged involvement in the smuggling of about 3,500 kg of pseudoephedrine with a street value of more than Rs 2,000 crore. The money ..

ED attaches fresh assets in PMLA case against UP-based bike taxi aggregator

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has attached fresh assets worth more than Rs 5 crore as part of a money laundering investigation against an Uttar Pradesh-based bike taxi aggregator and its promoters. A provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been issued against the company, Hello Ride Limited, its directors, presidents, agents and others, the ED said in a statement. The attached properties, which include agricultural land and plots, are located in Prayagraj, Kanpur and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. The total value of these properties is Rs 5.35 crore, it said. The ED had earlier frozen properties worth Rs 2.38 crore in this case and the total attachment now stands at Rs 7.73 crore. The money laundering case stems from about three dozen FIRs filed by the Uttar Pradesh Police against the company and its promoters Abhay Kumar Kushwaha, Neelam Verma, Nikhil Kushwah, Rajesh Pandey, Shaqeel Ahmad, Ragini Gupta and others. Abhay Kushwaha alon

CBI arrests CM Arvind Kejriwal in excise policy case; SC to hear bail plea

Delhi excise policy case: CBI arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal; Supreme Court granted Kejriwal permission to withdraw his petition and submit a new one challenging the Delhi HC decision

Jet Airways' Naresh Goyal moves HC, seeks extension of interim medical bail

Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal has moved the Bombay High Court seeking extension of the two-month interim medical bail granted to him earlier. On May 6, the high court had granted interim bail for two months on medical grounds to Goyal, arrested in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Goyal, 75, has now filed an application seeking extension of the same. The plea said his medical condition continues to remain poor and that he has also lost his wife to cancer on May 16. The application came up for hearing on Tuesday before a single bench of Justice Manish Pitale. The court referred to a circular issued by the high court in February, stating that the applications where earlier pleas were considered and decided by a particular judge shall be placed before the same bench. Justice Pitale directed the high court's registry department to place Goyal's application before the single bench of Justice N J Jamadar, who had granted him interim bail in May for two ...

Money laundering: TN minister Senthil Balaji's remand extended till July 1

A sessions court on Tuesday extended the remand of former Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji, arrested by the ED in a money laundering case, till July 1. Principal Sessions Judge S Alli, before whom Senthil Balaji was produced by the prosecution through video-conferencing from the Central Puzhal Prison here, also extended his judicial custody till July 1. When the case came up for hearing on Tuesday, the ED filed its counter affidavits to the three petitions filed by Senthil Balaji. The judge posted to July 1, further hearing of these petitions. In one petition, Senthil Balaji sought to defer the present proceedings and adjourn the case to a later date. In two others, he sought to furnish the missing documents in "Relied Upon Document Nos-16 and 17"--copies of counterfoil challans relating to his account, which were collected by the ED in its investigation, to him. Balaji was arrested on June 14, 2023 by the ED in connection with the money laundering case linked to a cash-for-jo

NEET-UG: CBI collects phones, burnt question paper from police; updates

The CBI collected evidence from Bihar's Economic Offences Unit (EOU), which includes a partially burnt question paper, mobile phones, laptops, and post-dated cheques

Bail order perverse, Kejriwal neck deep in money laundering: ED tells HC

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday told the Delhi High Court that the trial court order granting bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was based on "perverse" findings as it did not consider the material demonstrating his "neck deep involvement" in the offence of money laundering linked to the alleged excise scam. In a written note filed in relation to its plea seeking a stay on the trial court's decision, the agency contended the order suffers from a "jurisdictional defect" since it was not given a proper opportunity to argue its case. It also said the trial judge did not record her satisfaction that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence as per section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). On June 20, Special Judge Niyay Bindu, who sat as the vacation judge, granted bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case, saying the Enforcement Directorate (ED) failed to furnish direct evidence linking him to the proceeds of crime

NEET-UG 2024: Legal battle heats up, SC denies urgent probe request

The Supreme Court declined to immediately hear a plea seeking CBI and ED investigation into alleged NEET-UG 2024 irregularities

Amber Dalal case: ED raids Mumbai properties, seizes Rs 37-cr worth deposit

Bank and demat account deposits apart from cash worth about Rs 37 crore has been seized by the ED as part of a money laundering probe against a Mumbai-based financial consultant and his company who are alleged to have duped investors of Rs 600 crore through a Ponzi scheme. The federal agency said on Sunday that the action was undertaken after carrying out raids in the metropolitan city on June 21 against Amber Dalal and his company Ritz Consultancy Services. The Enforcement Directorate case of money laundering stems from a Mumbai Police FIR that charged the Chartered Accountant and his company with taking money from investors through a "suspected Ponzi scheme that promised high returns." Dalal "absconded" with this money after giving initial returns. It has been gathered that Dalal raised more than Rs 600 crore from 1,300 investors, the ED said in a statement. He was arrested by the EOW, Mumbai Police and is presently under judicial custody, it said. Dalal raised money from invest

Fresh plea in Supreme Court seeks CBI, ED enquiry into NEET-UG exam

A fresh plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the CBI and the ED to investigate alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET-UG held on May 5. The petition, filed by 10 students who had appeared for the exam, has also sought a direction to Bihar Police to expedite the investigation in the case and file a report before the apex court. "The petitioners are fully aware of the ramifications of the cancellation of the examination but there is absolutely no other alternative. "The NEET UG Examination of 2024 had many other irregularities, in particular, the gross negligence on the part of the authorities to make the question papers available to the candidates on time. In some places, the wrong set of question papers was distributed and later recalled," the plea said. The top court had earlier sought responses from the Centre, the National Testing Agency (NTA) and others on a slew of petitions, including those seeking scrapping of the NEET-UG 2024 exam

ED raids in Ranchi recover Rs 1 crore cash, 100 bullets in land grab case

The Enforcement Directorate has seized Rs 1 crore in cash and 100 live bullet rounds following raids in Ranchi as part of an alleged land grab-linked money laundering investigation against former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and others, officials said Saturday. The seizure was made on Friday evening from the Kanke road premise of a person identified as Kamlesh Singh. The raids were being carried out in the alleged land grab case against former CM and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren but pertains to a different land plot, according to sources. The federal agency has also registered a police case under the Arms Act in connection with the seizure of the live ammunition, they said. More than 25 persons including Soren, IAS officer and former Ranchi deputy commissioner Chhavi Ranjan, Bhanu Pratap Prasad and others have been arrested by the ED as part of the investigation into the case. Land parcels worth Rs 266 crore, including a clutch of plots spread across

Bail to Kejriwal exposed BJP conspiracy, so ED challenged it: Sanjay Singh

AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making a mockery of the justice system after the Delhi High Court put on hold a trial court order granting bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam. Singh said the trial court's bail to the Delhi chief minister "exposed" the conspiracy of the BJP and the party should apologise to the Aam Aadmi Party and Kejriwal. Taking to X, Singh said in a post in Hindi, "Look at the hooliganism of the Modi government, the trial court's order has not yet come, even a copy of the order has not been received, so Modi's ED reached the High Court to challenge which order? What is happening in this country? "Modi ji, why are you making a mockery of the justice system? The entire country is watching you?" the AAP MP said. At a press conference, Singh termed the trial court order was "historic" and completely "exposed" the role of the BJP government and ED operated by ..

ED acting as if Kejriwal 'most wanted terrorist in India': Sunita Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal lashed out at the ED for challenging her husband's bail order in the high court, accusing it of acting as if the AAP national convener was the "most wanted terrorist in India". Speaking in south Delhi's Bhogal where Delhi Water Minister Atishi began an indefinite hunger strike to press on her demand for getting more water from Haryana, Sunita Kejriwal said dictatorship in the country has crossed all limits. "It was only yesterday your chief minister got bail. In the morning, the order was supposed to be uploaded. Even before the order was uploaded, the ED approached the Delhi High Court. This happened as if Kejriwal is the most wanted terrorist in India," Sunita Kejriwal said. "Dictatorship in the country has crossed all limits. The ED does not want to give anyone liberty and has gone to the high court against the chief minister demanding a stay (on his bail). The high court's decision is yet to come. We hope the high court