Page 60 - Enforcement Directorate

ED summons Karti Chidambaram in PMLA probe; MP calls it 'most bogus' case

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram has not deposed before the ED for questioning in a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the issuance of visas to 263 Chinese nationals in 2011 and dubbed the case "most bogus". The 52-year-old legislator from the Sivaganga Lok Sabha seat in Tamil Nadu was summoned by the central agency to appear this week at its office here and record his statement in the case being probed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The MP is understood to have informed the ED that he was occupied with the ongoing Parliament session. The 2022 ED case pertains to allegations of Rs 50 lakh being paid as kickbacks to Karti and his close associate S Bhaskararaman by a top executive of Vedanta group company Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd. (TSPL), which was setting up a power plant in Punjab, according to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR. The money laundering case stems from the CBI complaint. Karti told PTI that the case was "most bogus

BBC staff to launch Indian language services company in line with FDI norms

The broadcaster is under scrutiny for alleged foreign exchange violations in India and an investigation was launched shortly after tax authorities searched BBC's offices in Delhi and Mumbai in Feb

ED attached Rs 64,920 cr crime proceeds in bank frauds, arrested 150: Govt

The Enforcement Directorate has taken up 1,105 bank fraud cases, attached crime proceeds worth Rs 64,920 crore and arrested 150 people, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said the total number of wilful defaulters having outstanding loan of Rs 25 lakh and above from public sector banks rose to 14,159 at the end of March 2023, from 10,209 at the end of June 2019. In case of private sector banks, the number of such defaulters rose to 2,504 at the end of March 2023, from 1,950 at the end of June 2019. "As per inputs received from the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), it has taken up around 1,105 bank fraud cases, including those pertain to willful defaulters, for investigation under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMIA)." "Necessary action as per the provisions of PMLA has been taken, which resulted in attachment of proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 64,920

Hemant Soren is neck-deep in corruption, behaving like monarch: BJP leader

Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate summoned Soren in connection with the alleged land scam case

ED summons Jharkhand CM for questioning in money-laundering case on Tuesday

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a fresh summons to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for questioning in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam on Tuesday, official sources said. Soren has been asked to depose at the federal agency's office here and get his statement recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said on Monday. The summons for the chief minister is for December 12, they added. This is the sixth notice issued to Soren, but he never deposed as he filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking protection from the ED action. The probe pertains to the ED alleging that a "huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by mafia was going on in Jharkhand". The agency has arrested 14 people in the case, including 2011-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Chhavi Ranjan who had earlier served as the director of the state social welfare department and deputy commissioner of Ranchi. The 48-year-old

Keeping me in custody serves no purpose, AAP's Sanjay Singh tells court

AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Saturday urged a court here to release him, saying no purpose will be served by keeping him in further custody in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise scam. Singh's counsel made the submission before Special Judge M K Nagpal during the hearing of his bail application. He told the court that he was not required for further investigation and that the probe against him was over. "The ED has already filed its charge sheet against me after the completion of the investigation. I'm not required for the custodial interrogation any further. There is no purpose to keep me in further custody," Singh's counsel told the court. During the arguments, the ED said the probe was ongoing and if released on bail, Singh could hamper the investigation and tamper with the evidence as well as influence the witnesses. In the course of hearing on bail application, the fifth supplementary prosecution complaint filed against Singh was also taken out from a se

ED allegations false: Jet Airways founder seeks bail in bank fraud case

Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, an accused in an alleged fraud of Rs 538 crore at state-run Canara Bank who is in jail for nearly three months, on Friday moved an application before a special court here seeking bail in the case. The court has asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED), probing the case, to file its reply to Goyal's plea by December 20. The 74-year-old businessman, in his plea seeking relief, has cited multiple health ailments like heart condition, prostate, orthopaedic-related issues, among others and claimed there are reasonable grounds to believe he "is not guilty. The entire investigation has been carried out only with the intention to allege and project siphoning (of funds) by the applicant for his personal benefits, said the plea filed before special PMLA court Judge M G Deshpande. From reading the complaint, it is more than clear that "false allegations have been made by the ED solely with a mala fide intention of projecting a negative image of Goyal", it ...

5 "potential witnesses" found against NewsClick founder, cops tells court

The Delhi Police arrested Purkayastha on October 3, alleging that Prabir Purkayastha conspired with a group called PADS to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls

ED files first charge sheet against Chinese smartphone maker Vivo, others

The Enforcement Directorate filed its first charge sheet in connection with its money laundering probe against Chinese smartphone maker vivo and some others, official sources said on Thursday. The prosecution complaint has been filed before a special court here on Wednesday under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and vivo-India has been named an accused apart from those arrested in this case, the sources told PTI. The federal probe agency arrested four persons, including the MD of the Lava International mobile company Hari Om Rai, in this investigation. The others who were taken into custody were Chinese national Guangwen alias Andrew Kuang, Chartered Accountants Nitin Garg and Rajan Malik. The ED had then claimed in its remand papers before a local court here that the alleged activities of the four enabled vivo-India to make wrongful gains that were detrimental to the economic sovereignty of India. It had raided vivo-India and its linked person

PSBs given Rs 15,000 crore on ED action, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance minister said that over last two financial years, the number of non-performing asset accounts in the commercial banks have declined from 2.19 cr to 2.06 cr, showing decrease of 6 per cent

PSBs get back Rs 15,183 cr following ED action under PMLA: Sitharaman

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has confiscated assets worth Rs 15,186.64 crore under the stringent prevention of money laundering law and almost all of these have been restituted to public sector banks, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Replying to supplementary questions in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said specific actions through various legal provisions are being taken against defaulters and as a result, "huge monies" are going back to the banks. Sitharaman informed the House that as of March 31, 2023, legal suits were filed for recovery against 13,978 loan accounts, action under the SARFAESI Act has been initiated in 11,483 cases, FIRs have been filed in 5,674 cases, and an aggregate amount of Rs 33,801 crore has been recovered. "As of December 1, 2023, assets amounting to Rs 15,186.64 crores under the PMLA have been confiscated by the ED out of which Rs 15,183.77 crores have been restituted to the Public Sector Banks," she said. Chair

Orissa HC grants bail to honey trap scandal accused Archana Nag in ED case

The Orissa High Court has granted bail to honey trap scandal accused Archana Nag in an ED case registered against her. A single judge bench of Justice G Satapathy on Monday allowed the applicant to furnish a bail bond of Rs 2 lakh. The accused has been warned to not commit any offence while on bail and asked to deposit her passport with the court. She has also been asked to appear before the courts as and when required. With the granting of bail in the ED case, Nag, who was arrested in October last year, has received bail in all cases registered against her and is likely to walk out of prison. The high court had earlier granted her bail in two other cases registered against her by Bhubaneswar city police. Nag and her associates had allegedly extorted crores of rupees from affluent people by blackmailing them of releasing their intimate videos, captured by the accused after honey trapping them. Cases were registered against Nag with Nayapalli and Khandagiri police stations in ...

ED raids in Haryana, Raj in money laundering case against Bishnoi gang

The Enforcement Directorate Tuesday conducted multiple raids in Haryana and Rajasthan as part of a money laundering investigation against the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, officials said. The central probe agency is covering around a dozen locations in the two states as part of the action being carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Bishnoi, currently in jail, is one of the accused in the murder case of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala. The ED's action stems from FIRs and charge sheets filed against the gangster by the National investigation Agency (NIA).

ED terms TN police's search of its Madurai office 'illegal', 'mala fide'

The Enforcement Directorate on Sunday lodged a complaint with the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police Shankar Jiwal seeking registration of an FIR against vigilance officials for conducting 'illegal search' in its Madurai office and alleged that unauthorised persons entered the office premises and sensitive case records were stolen. The ED, citing the December 1 searches by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption in its office after its officer Ankit Tiwari was arrested in a corruption case, the Central agency, in its plaint alleged its entire office was 'ransacked.' Even case files that had no relation to Tiwari's case were opened and sensitive case records and internal documents of the ED were accessed, the complaint alleged. "When Panchanama was drawn, we were shocked to see that there were only four persons authorised for the search along with two witnesses...we have signed the Panchanama registering our protest." Though only fours persons were found to be authorised

Delhi excise policy case: ED files charge sheet against Sanjay Singh

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday filed a charge sheet against AAP MP Sanjay Singh in connection with the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case, officials said. The prosecution complaint has been filed before a local court under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This is a supplementary charge sheet in this case as the agency had filed about five such complaints earlier. Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was arrested in this case by the ED in October. The anti-money laundering agency had alleged that an accused businessman Dinesh Arora gave Rs 2 crore in cash at the Rajya Sabha MP's residence in two tranches. Singh has rebutted the claim. The AAP MP was arrested by the ED in connection with its money laundering probe linked to the 2021-22 Delhi Excise policy case and was the second high-profile leader after Manish Sisodia, a former deputy chief minister, to be held in this case. The AAP that rules Delhi has cal

ED raids 2 ex-Punjab ministers; seizes docs, mobile phones, electronics

"Incriminating" documents, mobile phones, and other electronic devices were seized by the ED after raids against two former Punjab forest ministers and Congress leaders Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Sangat Singh Giljian and others as part of an alleged forest scam-linked money laundering probe. The federal probe agency issued a statement on Friday, saying its investigation pertains to charges of "bribery" in the state forest department against the issuance of a permit for tree felling and for transfer/posting in the department, among some other allegations. The raids were conducted on November 30 in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi at the residential premises of Dharamsot, Giljian, their associates, forest officers and some private individuals, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said. Dharamsot (63), has been a five-time MLA and he was arrested earlier this year by the Punjab Vigilance bureau as part of a case linked to alleged possession of disproportionate assets. Giljian has been an MLA from

ED registers money laundering case in connection with oxygen plant fraud

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a case of money laundering concerning the alleged fraud in setting up oxygen plants in hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, police said on Saturday. The police's economic offences wing (EOW) had on November 24 arrested contractor Romil Chheda of M/s Highway Construction Company for allegedly causing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) a loss of Rs 6 crore, an official said. The ED on Friday registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the fraud, he said. Chheda was awarded a contract to set up oxygen plants in nine BMC-run hospitals and two jumbo COVID-19 centres despite allegedly not having prior experience in executing such work, he said. According to the EOW, the fraud took place between April 2021 and January 2022 at the municipal workshop in Byculla and the oxygen plants on the premises of civic-run hospitals V N Desai, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, GTB, Kasturba, BYL Nair, R N ..

Acting ED Director Rahul Navin empanelled as additional secretary at Centre

Acting ED Director Rahul Navin has been empanelled by the Union government to hold an additional secretary rank at the Centre. Navin is a 1993-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the Income Tax cadre. An order issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Thursday empanelled Navin in the additional secretary (AS) rank along with 15 other officers from various cadres. He was appointed as the in-charge director or head of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in September following the end of tenure of Sanjay Kumar Mishra. Navin holds expertise in international taxation laws and treaties and has been serving as the Special Director (vigilance) in the ED since his appointment at the agency from the Income Tax department in 2020. The ED director post is an additional secretary rank post. Mishra, a 1984-batch IRS officer, was promoted to the secretary rank while heading the ED. The ED is a federal probe agency tasked to investigate financial crimes under three law

ED carries out raids in Rs 250-crore money laundering case in J-K

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday searched six places in connection with a Rs 250-crore money laundering case in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The searches included the premises of the former chairman of Jammu and Kashmir State Cooperative Bank Limited, they said. Earlier the officials had mentioned that the case pertained to J-K Bank. The fraud was in the name of the fictitious River Jhelum Cooperative Housing Building Society, the officials said. According to them, the raids were conducted by the ED's office in Srinagar under powers provided to the federal probe agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for search and seizure. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had already filed a charge sheet in the case against Hilal A Mir, the chairman of the fictitious housing society, the then chairman of J-K State Co-operative Bank Limited Mohd Shafi Dar and others for the commission of offences under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of ...

Queries received in ED's notice are solely technical in nature: Byju's

Byju's said the notice was sent on delayed annual performance reports related to overseas direct investments of Rs 8,000 crore