Page 49 - Enforcement Directorate

CBI gets Shajahan Sheikh's custody from CID in ED official attack case

The CBI on Wednesday got the custody of Sandeshkhali ED official attack case accused Shajahan Sheikh from the West Bengal CID, following two orders by the Calcutta High Court to do so on two consecutive days. In a fresh directive on Wednesday, the high court directed the state government to "immediately implement" its Tuesday's judgement to transfer a case on the attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials at Sandeshkhali to the CBI and hand over custody of the main accused Sheikh to the central agency. A team of CBI officials reached CID headquarters Bhawani Bhawan before 4 PM. But the handover from the state agency took place at around 6:48 PM, despite the Calcutta High Court setting a deadline of 4.15 PM. "Shajahan Sheikh was handed over to CBI," a CID official said. The CID took him to a state-run hospital for a medical check-up before handing him over to the CBI. The CBI officials are likely to take him to an ESI Hospital and then to Nizam Palace, the city office of the

ED files court complaint against Arvind Kejriwal for skipping summonses

The Enforcement Directorate has filed a fresh complaint before a Delhi court seeking prosecution of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for skipping multiple summonses issued to him in a money laundering case, official sources said on Wednesday. The latest complaint pertains to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor not honouring summonses no. 4 to 8 sent by the federal probe agency under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. The court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Divya Malhotra has listed the matter for hearing on Thursday. The ED had earlier moved a local court seeking Kejriwal's prosecution for not attending the first three summonses issued to him in the money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. The court of ACMM Malhotra has listed this matter (regarding summonses no. 1 to 3) for hearing on March 16. Kejriwal, 55, had called all the ED summonses "illegal" and informed the agency last time that

Chargesheet filed against Chinese-origin directors in crypto mining case

A charge-sheet has been filed under the anti-money laundering law against 299 entities, including 10 persons of Chinese origin, in an investigation linked to alleged duping of investors in the name of mining cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoins, the Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday. A special court in Dimapur in Nagaland on Tuesday took cognisance of the prosecution complaint filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the federal agency said in a statement. A total of 299 entities, including 76 Chinese-controlled entities in which 10 directors are of Chinese origin and two controlled by other foreign nationals, have been named as accused, it said. The Enforcement Directorate's (ED) case of money laundering stems from an FIR of the Cyber Crimes Unit of the Kohima Police. The Kohima Police had booked various people under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act for allegedly duping gullible investors by promising astronomical returns by mining ..

HC grants leave to ED to file contempt petition against Bengal govt

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted leave to the ED to file a contempt petition against the West Bengal government over the state police not handing over custody of suspended TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh to the CBI, despite an order to that effect. Appearing for the ED, Deputy Solicitor General Dhiraj Trivedi prayed for leave to file the contempt petition and sought an urgent hearing of the matter, claiming that it was losing precious time of Sheikh's custody to the CBI. The high court had on Tuesday directed the transfer of investigation to the CBI into a mob attack on ED officials when they went to search the premises of Sheikh in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district on January 5 in connection with a ration scam probe. A division bench comprising justices Harish Tandon and Hiranmay Bhattacharyya granted leave to the ED to file the petition. Meanwhile, the West Bengal government on Wednesday sought urgent listing of its plea in the Supreme Court challenging the high .

ED attaches assets worth Rs 12 cr of suspended TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh

Ongoing investigations were initiated based on multiple FIRs which include serious offences such as threats of injury, murder, attempt to murder, extortion, and illegal land acquisition

ED seeks details of accused from Pune police in Rs 3,600 cr drug haul

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sought details of the persons arrested by Pune police in Maharashtra in the last month's mephedrone drug haul case, a senior official said. The city police in February seized more than 1,700 kilograms of mephedrone, valued at about Rs 3,600 crore in illicit markets, across Pune, Delhi and Sangli. Eleven persons, including the owner of a manufacturing unit in Kurkumbh MIDC (near Pune), where the contraband was allegedly produced, were apprehended. "We received a letter from the ED on Monday, seeking information about the accused. Given the magnitude of the drug racket, it was expected that the ED would seek details," the crime branch official said on Tuesday. The central agency asked for information about the accused, their bank accounts and locations where searches were conducted. "Based on the information, the agency will investigate money trails and suspected hawala transactions involving the accused," he said. The police have arrested 11 per

ED marches on at a stronger footing with better infrastructure, resources

Investigative agency pivots to manpower capabilities and specialised skills

ED attaches Rs 12 cr worth assets of former TMC member Shajahan Sheikh

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday said it has attached over a dozen properties worth Rs 12.78 crore of suspended TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh including bank deposits, an apartment, and agricultural and fishery land in Sandeshkhali and Kolkata in West Bengal. A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach these assets, the agency said in a statement. A team of ED officials was attacked by a nearly 1,000-strong mob on January 5 when they went to raid Sheikh's house at Sandeshkhali in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. The strongman allegedly has close links with arrested former state food minister Jyoti Priya Mallick, who is being probed by the federal agency in a money laundering case linked to the multi-crore ration distribution scam in West Bengal. Sheikh was arrested on February 29 by the West Bengal Police in the ED attack case, 55 days after he went underground following the alleged assault on the ED team. The TM

Attack on ED officers: Calcutta HC transfers Sandeshkhali case to CBI

The court also directed that the custody of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh, who was arrested by the West Bengal police on February 29 in connection with the attack, be handed over to the central agency

Court summons ex-CM Soren for disobeying ED notices in land grab case

A court here has summoned incarcerated former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren next month holding him prima facie guilty of disobeying notices issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering probe linked to an alleged land grab case. The agency had filed a complaint against the senior Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader sometime back, saying he had failed to join the investigation under seven summonses issued to him, the first being on August 14 last year. He should be prosecuted under the Indian Penal Code's section 174 (non-attendance in obedience to an order from public servant), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said in its complaint. Soren was arrested by the ED on January 31 on money laundering charges following a second round of questioning at his official residence in Ranchi. He resigned as the chief minister before he was arrested. The 48-year-old JMM leader is under judicial custody at present. "From the contents of the complainant (ED) and the

Kejriwal skips 8th ED summon, says ready to appear virtually after Mar 12

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday skipped the eighth summons by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the excise policy case and expressed readiness to appear before the agency through video-conferencing March 12, government sources said. Sources in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said the agency was examining Kejriwal's response. The agency might not allow Kejriwal's request to appear virtually and might issue a ninth summons to him for questioning in the case, they said. Kejriwal, in a press conference, said it was written in law that ED proceedings are like judicial proceedings. "That means the agency is like a court. In a court, any party is allowed to be present through video conferencing. If I am asking for video-conferencing, which is my right, I hope they will allow it," he said. The chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener also said he has no objection over a live streaming of his appearance before the agency if it so decides. "This is n

Salman Khurshid's wife, 2 others laundered govt funds, alleges ED

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday alleged that senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid's wife Louise Khurshid and two others "laundered" Rs 71.50 lakh in central government funds for their personal gain. The federal agency said in a statement that its has provisionally attached 15 agricultural land parcels located in the Farrukhabad district of Uttar Pradesh and some bank deposits, worth a combined Rs 45.92 lakh, of the Dr Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust, under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). A probe found that "grant-in-aid of Rs 71.50 lakh received by the trust was not utilised for holding camps sanctioned by the Government of India but was laundered by Pratyush Shukla, a representative of the trust, Mohammad Athar, secretary to the trust, and Louise Khurshid, project director of the trust, for the interest of the trust and their personal gain", the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed. In this way, the fund received as grant-in-aid was laundered for .

ED questions Niranajn Hiranandani, his son Darshan in Fema investigation

The Enforcement Directorate has questioned Niranjan Hiranandani, the promoter of prominent Mumbai-based realty company Hiranandani Group, in a foreign exchange violation case, official sources said Monday. Niranajn Hiranandani and his son Darshan Hiranandani were asked to join the investigation by the central agency at its office here as part of a probe being conducted under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). Darshan Hiranandani has been living in Dubai for the past several years. About four premises of the group in and around Mumbai were searched by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last month. Apart from some foreign transactions, the agency is stated to be probing into the beneficiaries of a British Virgin Islands-based trust allegedly linked to the Hiranandani Group's promoters. The group has said it will co-operate with the ED in this FEMA investigation. Official sources said this ED probe is not linked to another FEMA investigation being conducted against TMC leader

TMC urges EC to ensure central agencies do not impede electoral process

The Trinamool Congress on Monday urged the Election Commission to ensure that central agencies must not impede the electoral process. The TMC delegation also appealed to the commission to make sure that "central forces are not pressurised by the BJP". Terming BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari as a "habitual offender", the TMC asked EC members to "keep a close watch" on him. The party demanded that Lok Sabha polls to the 42 parliamentary constituencies in West Bengal be conducted in a single day and not in phases. The party delegation, which met the full bench of EC here, said that the commission should accept 11 voter IDs on the polling day. The EC bench led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, which is in the state, held meetings with representatives of political parties during the day. The EC team will also hold parleys with district magistrates, superintendents of police and other officials of the state government, an official said. It will also meet Chief Electoral Officer

Attack on ED officers: HC stays probe transfer from WB Police to CBI

The Calcutta High Court on Monday reserved order in a prayer by the Enforcement Directorate for transfer of investigation from the West Bengal Police to CBI in connection with an attack on ED officials when they went to raid the premises of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh at Sandeshkhali. Hearing in the matter before a division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam was concluded following submissions by the ED, the state and the CBI. Alleging that the state police were biased, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju submitted they purposely arrested Sheikh following an FIR by the ED on the attack on its officials by a nearly 1,000-strong mob on January 5 at Sandeshkhali, even though more than 40 other cases are pending against him for years. The investigation in the case was handed over to the CID by the state government from the Basirhat Police after Sheikh's arrest. Raju claimed that this was done to deny the CBI custody of Sheikh even if the probe is transferred to it, as the

ED intensifies probe in Mahadev betting app case, 2 more accused arrested

According to ED lawyer Saurabh Pandey, Suraj Chokhani, the Managing Director of Ability Games Ltd Company, is a close associate of Tibrewal

Kejriwal agrees to appear before ED virtually, seeks date after March 12

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in his reply to the latest ED summons related to the excise policy case has expressed readiness to appear before the agency through video-conferencing after March 12, government sources said on Monday. Kejriwal has so far skipped multiple summonses of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), calling them illegal and asking the agency to wait as the matter was in court. The chief minister reiterated that the summonses are "illegal" but still he was ready to answer the questions by the probe agency, the sources said. Kejriwal also has to appear before a city court on March 16. The court has sought his personal appearance in a complaint case filed by the ED over skipping of its summonses by the him.

Calcutta HC judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay says he will resign on Tuesday

Calcutta High Court judge Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay, whose rulings on various education-related issues in the state stirred political debates, said he will resign on Tuesday. Justice Gangopadhyay declined to comment on whether he intends to enter politics, stating that he would address all media inquiries after submitting his resignation. "I will resign from the post of Justice of Calcutta High Court on Tuesday," he told reporters outside his residence here on Sunday. Justice Gangopadhyay said he will submit his resignation to the President of India in the first hour on Tuesday, with copies sent to the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. He has issued several directives instructing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to probe allegations of irregularities in the recruitment processes of teaching and non-teaching staff in West Bengal government-sponsored and -aided schools.

Request Suvendu to share Shajahan's whereabouts with ED, CBI: Kunal Ghosh

The TMC spokesperson claimed that Shahjahan got inducted into the TMC holding Adhikari's hands when the latter was in the TMC and the duo was even spotted in photographs together

Sebi grants relief to investor Shankar Sharma, 4 others in Brightcom case

In the confirmatory order issued on Wednesday, the market watchdog revoked the bar on Sharma from selling his stake in the company after he submitted details of the transactions