Page 50 - Enforcement Directorate

Delhi liquor excise policy: Court summons CM Kejriwal for hearing on Feb 17

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal faces legal action for failure to adhere to Enforcement Directorate summons related to alleged money laundering

PMLA court extends ED custody of former CM Hemant Soren by 5 days

A special PMLA court on Wednesday extended the Enforcement Directorate (ED) remand of former chief minister Hemant Soren by five days in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam, lawyers said. Soren, JMM executive president, on February 2 was remanded to five days' ED custody by the special PMLA (The Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court which ended on Wednesday. "The ED had prayed for seven days of remand which we objected saying no further remand is required because he has already been interrogated for eight hours on January 20 and another eight hours on January 31," Advocate General Rajeev Ranjan, who appeared for Soren, told reporters. Apart from that, he has already been interrogated for 120 hours in five days. "So, there is no need for any further remand. But they have tried to expand this scope of investigation beyond the predicate offence matter. We have been saying that they (ED) have no power and jurisdiction to investigate anything beyond the predicate

Excise policy case: Court asks Kejriwal to appear on Feb 17 on ED's plea

A Delhi court on Wednesday summoned Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on February 17 on a complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him over the non-compliance of its summons in a money-laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy for the national capital. "Cognisance of the complaint has been taken and summons is being issued to him to appear on February 17," Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra said. The judge had reserved the order after the ED submitted that it had concluded its arguments in the matter. The ED had on February 3 filed a fresh complaint case against Kejriwal for the non-compliance of its summons. Kejriwal on Friday skipped the fifth summons issued to him by the ED. The agency had issued the summons to him on last Wednesday. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor had earlier written to the ED, describing the summonses as "illegal and politically motivated". He had alleged that the summonses were aimed at preventing him fr

Delhi excise case: Court to pass order on ED's plea against Arvind Kejriwal

A Delhi court is likely to pronounce at 4 PM on Wednesday its order on a complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over non-compliance of summons in the alleged excise policy money laundering case. "I am posting the matter for order at 4 PM," Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Divya Malhotra said. The judge reserved the order after the ED submitted that it has concluded the arguments in the matter. The ED had on February 3 filed a fresh complaint case against Kejriwal for non-compliance of its summons. Kejriwal on Friday last skipped the fifth summons, which the ED issued to him on Wednesday. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor had earlier written a letter to the ED, terming the summonses as "illegal and politically motivated". He alleged they were aimed at preventing him from campaigning in elections.

ED didn't conduct searches, sat in living room of CM PA's house: Atishi

The ED officials who raided the premises of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's personal assistant Bibhav Kumar sat in the living room of his house and did not even pretend to carry out any searches, Delhi minister Atishi said on Wednesday. The officials did not search any rooms or look for any documents. They did not even care to explain in connection with which case they had gone there, she said at a press conference. There was no immediate response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to Atishi's claims. Sources had said on Tuesday that the raids were carried out in connection with "irregularities" in a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) tendering process. The 'panchnama' document showed that the ED team took with it just two Gmail account downloads and three family phones from Kumar's house, Atishi claimed. The ED raids are nothing but an attack on Kejriwal to crush him because he is the only one who openly challenges the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she charged. About 10-12 premis

ED conducts raids against Harak Singh Rawat in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches against Congress leader and former minister Harak Singh Rawat as part of a money laundering investigation, official sources said. The searches were carried out at multiple premises in Uttarakhand, Delhi and Chandigarh, they said. Rawat had quit the BJP ahead of the 2022 Uttarakhand assembly polls and joined the Congress. The ED investigation is understood to be linked to alleged illegal activities in the state's Corbett Tiger Reserve.

ED raids being carried out to trample AAP, trouble us: Delhi CM Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday claimed that 23 Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers carried out raids at his personal assistant's residence for 16 hours but did not find anything. He also claimed that the houses of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders such as Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh were raided as well. But even there, the ED did not find anything, the national convener of the party said. These are being done to trample the AAP and trouble its members, Kejriwal said in a post on 'X'. The ED on Tuesday searched the premises of Kejriwal's personal assistant (PA) Bibhav Kumar and others as part of its probe into charges that the AAP and some officials received kickbacks of about Rs 21 crore through alleged irregularities in a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) contract, official sources said. The action is part of a money laundering investigation focusing on alleged bribes that were garnered through irregularities in the DJB tendering process and purportedly ...

FIU, ED seek report from RBI on action taken to bar Paytm's banking unit

The Enforcement Directorate and the Financial Intelligence Unit have asked the RBI to share its report on the recent action taken to bar Paytm Payments Bank Ltd from accepting deposits or top-ups in customer accounts, official sources said on Tuesday. Federal agencies ED and FIU, tasked with checking violations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), are already probing matters related to the payment gateway under provisions of the anti-money laundering law. Following the action of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Paytm has said it did no wrong and asserted that its brand owner company One97 Communications, founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) are not being investigated for money laundering or foreign exchange violations. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has asked the RBI to share its latest report so that it can analyse if it needs to initiate a probe against PPBL, a senior official told PTI. The agency has been probing Paytm and oth

ED raids vendetta politics, attempt to divert attention from dharna: TMC

The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday denounced the coordinated ED searches in West Bengal as "vendetta politics" and a "desperate manoeuvre" by the BJP to divert attention from the TMC's ongoing dharna demanding clearance of the state's dues. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday morning started simultaneous searches at multiple places in West Bengal, including residences of some state officers, in connection with its investigation into alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds, officials said. Senior TMC leader Shashi Panja asserted, "This is an attempt to divert public and media's attention from the TMC's ongoing dharna demanding clearance of state's dues. This is a clear example of vendetta politics." However, the West Bengal BJP dismissed these allegations as "baseless". BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya stated, "The reality is that the TMC is deeply mired in corruption, with nearly every leader facing corruption allegations." Senior TMC leaders Partha Chatterjee, Jyotipriyo Mallic

ED searches at multiple places in Bengal in 'embezzlement' of MGNREGA funds

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday morning started simultaneous searches at multiple places in West Bengal in connection with its investigation into alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds, officials said. While the residence of a former block development officer (BDO) was raided in Salt Lake's IA Block, the personnel of the agency were also conducting searches at the house and office of a businessman in Chinsurah in Hooghly district, they said. Searches were also being conducted at a property linked to a state government employee in Baharampur in Murshidabad district, they added. The former BDO was posted in Dhaniakhali in Hooghly district, an officer said. The searches were being conducted after evidence of their involvement was found in the "irregularities", he claimed. The alleged irregularities relate to about 25 lakh "fake" job cards issued under MGNREGA in the state, officials said.

ED raids Arvind Kejriwal's personal secretary, AAP leaders: Report

ED raid is also reportedly underway at the residence of AAP MP ND Gupta in Delhi

BJP-led Centre trying to scare AAP leaders by conducting ED raids: Atishi

Delhi minister and senior AAP leader Atishi on Tuesday said the BJP-led Centre is trying to "scare and silence" the party by conducting ED raids on its leaders. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched the premises of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's personal secretary Bibhav Kumar and AAP Rajya Sabha MP and party's treasurer ND Gupta as part of a money laundering case, official sources said. Atishi said raids were being conducted by the ED at the premises of Kumar and Gupta since 7 am. More raids on the premises of other AAP leaders are to be conducted throughout the day, she claimed. The minister also alleged that the statements of witnesses and accused related to the excise policy case were extracted by the probe agency by force and threat. She alleged the BJP-led Centre using ED to "scare and silence" AAP by conducting raids on its leaders. Despite two years of probe, nothing has been found by the agencies in the alleged excise policy scam, she said. About 10 premises

ED probing Paytm, its bank unit over currency transactions: Report

The sources did not indicate what specific provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), which covers individual

What steps has ED taken over money laundering allegations on Paytm: Cong

Hitting out at the government after the RBI's action against Paytm Payments Bank, the Congress on Monday asked what steps have been taken by the Enforcement Directorate given serious allegations of money laundering have been levelled against the company. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate asked whether the ED was satisfied with cases against political leaders, alleging that 95 per cent of its cases were against politicians. She also asked if the data of users of Paytm payments bank was safe and was not being shared with the BJP. "Why was Paytm payment bank given such a long relaxation despite so many violations? What steps has ED taken so far on serious allegations like money laundering? How much did Paytm donate to the BJP and the PM Cares Fund," the Congress leader asked. "Is the ED satisfied by initiating 95 per cent of cases against political people? Is the data of Paytm consumers confidential or is it being shared with the BJP," she asked. On Sunday, Paytm said that the E

Sanjay Bhandari case: Court stays NBW issued against UK national Chadha

The accused, through his lawyer, has moved the court for the cancellation of the NBW against him in the case

Prove corruption charges, will quit politics: Soren's challenge to BJP

Arrested former chief minister of Jharkhand Hemant Soren on Monday challenged the BJP to prove the corruption charges against him, asserting that if the accusations are proved, he will quit politics. Taking part in the confidence motion moved by his successor Champai Soren in the assembly, the JMM executive president also alleged that the Raj Bhavan was instrumental in his arrest after a conspiracy hatched by the Centre. JMM legislature party leader Champai Soren took oath as the chief minister of Jharkhand on February 2, after Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last week in a money laundering case. "I challenge BJP to prove corruption charges against me. If proved, I will resign from politics," said Hemant Soren. The ex-chief minister who is in ED custody now was allowed by a special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court to participate in the trust vote. "January 31 was a black chapter in India's history. A chief minister was arrested at the behest

Task is to make state corruption free, prosperous: Jharkhand Governor

Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan on Monday said the task is to make Jharkhand corruption-free and prosperous. He was addressing a special session of the Jharkhand assembly convened by the Champai Soren government to seek trust vote. "For past years, the government worked for the development of people. Now, our task is to continue the progress and make Jharkhand corruption-free and prosperous," the governor said. The ruling party legislators gave a rousing welcome to arrested former chief minister Hemant Soren on his arrival to the House and raised slogans like 'Hemant Soren Jindabad' and 'Hamara Neta Kaisa Ho Hemant Soren Jaisa Ho' for about five minutes. Earlier, MLAs of the BJP-led opposition raised slogans against the government for the late arrival of chief minister Champai Soren.

Next hearing on Hemant Soren's petition against ED action on Feb 12

A special PMLA court here will hear a petition by arrested ex-Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren against the ED action on February 12, his counsel Advocate General Rajeev Ranjan said on Monday. Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last week in a money laundering case. "The next hearing on Hemant Soren's petition against the ED action on February 12," the advocate general said. The special court has allowed Soren to participate in the trust vote in the state assembly on Monday.

Ex-Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren reaches assembly to participate in trust vote

Arrested JMM leader and former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Monday reached the assembly here to take part in a trust vote of the Champai Soren-led government. A special court in Ranchi has allowed Hemant Soren, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) executive president, to participate in the floor test. Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He was remanded to ED custody for five days by the court on February 2. Hemant Soren had filed a petition before the special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court, seeking permission to participate in the trust vote sought by the new government. He had pleaded before the court that he is a member of the assembly and has a right to participate in the special session of the House. The new government led by Champai Soren has sought the floor test to prove its majority in the House. JMM legislature party leader Champai Soren took oath as th

ED moves Jharkhand HC over FIR filed by Hemant Soren under SC/ST Act

Hemant Soren was arrested by the ED on Wednesday evening after seven hours of grilling in an alleged money laundering case