Page 65 - Enforcement Directorate

ED raids several places including TMC minister Jyotipriyo Mallick's house

Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials began an early Thursday morning search at the residence of West Bengal minister Jyotipriyo Mallick in connection with an ongoing probe into the alleged multi-crore ration distribution scam, an officer said. The ED slueths raided two flats belonging to Mallick, who is currently the state Forest minister, at Kolkata's Salt Lake area, supported by a team of central forces, he added. Search operations were also on at eight other flats including the residences of Mallick's former personal assistant while he was the Food minister, he said. "The minister was not there during the raid. He came later and his phone has been taken away. There are eight officers inside. We are also conducting searches at his former personal assistant's residence in Dum Dum and a few other places," the ED officer told PTI. The central probe agency has already arrested one person who allegedly has close links to the ruling Trinamool Congress as well as Mallick, the officer

ED files chargesheet in Mahadev betting case that surfaced in Chhattisgarh

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed its first chargesheet in connection with its money laundering investigation into the Mahadev betting app case that surfaced in Chhattisgarh recently, sources said. The prosecution complaint was filed by the federal probe agency before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur on Friday, official sources said. The ED has named 14 persons in the prosecution complaint, including alleged main promoters of the Mahadev Book app Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal besides Vikas Chhapariya, Chandrabhushan Verma, Satish Chandrakar, Anil Dammani, Sunil Dammani, Vishal Ahuja, Dheeraj Ahuja, Srijan Associates through Punaram Verma, Shiv Kumar Verma, Punaram Verma Shiv Kumar Verma, Yashoda Verma, Pawan Nathani, they said. Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal had denied any wrongdoing. The operative part of the chargesheet runs into 197 pages, while the annexures add about 8,800 more pages. The projected proceeds of the alleged c

ED files charge sheet against man named in Panama Papers for foreign assets

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday said it has filed a charge sheet under the anti-money laundering law against a man, whose name figured in the Panama Paper leaks, for alleged possession of undisclosed assets abroad. The prosecution complaint against Sanjay Vijay Shinde, his wife Aparna and a company named Venus Bay Offshore Ltd. was filed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Bhopal on October 18 and the court took cognisance of the charge sheet on Friday, the federal agency said. The money laundering case against Shinde stems from an Income Tax Department charge sheet that was filed earlier under the anti-black money law. The I-T department acted against the man as part of its probe into the Panama Papers leak. Dubbed 'Panama Papers', an investigation of a stockpile of records from Panamanian legal firm Mossack Fonseca by the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in 2016 had named several world leaders an

Kerala LIFE mission case: ED attaches assets worth over Rs 5 crore

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached assets worth more than Rs 5 crore in connection with its ongoing money laundering probe into an alleged scam in Kerala's LIFE Mission, which was meant for providing homes to flood victims. The properties attached include residential premises in the name of Santhosh Eappen and immovable property and bank balances in the name of Swapna Suresh, the federal agency said in a statement. The total value of these properties is Rs 5.38 crore, it said. It alleged that a conspiracy was hatched by Sarith PS and Swapna Suresh, former employees of the UAE consulate, with "active support" of M Sivasankar, a former principal secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and Sandeep Nair and others. This was done, the ED said, to "generate commission as bribe" from the funds donated by Red Crescent by awarding the LIFE Mission project to Unitac Builders and Developers and Sane Ventures LLP run by Santhosh Eappen "without following ..

PMLA case: We will go into 'legal issues' only, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court, which has decided to examine whether its 2022 judgement upholding the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) powers to arrest and attach property involved in money laundering under PMLA required any reconsideration, said on Friday it will deal only with the "legal issues" and not go into individual matters. The three-judge special bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said this while hearing an interlocutory application filed by a man who has been summoned by the ED in a money laundering case related to alleged extortion of illegal levy on coal transportation and production of steel and iron pellets etc. "When the matter was taken up (on October 18), we had said we will go into the legal issues only and not individual issues," Justice Kaul said. The bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Bela M Trivedi, said "We are dealing with larger issue which is apparent from the order passed on October 18. It is not possible for the special bench to deal with all ...

ED power to issue summons under Section 50 PMLA does not include arrest

To be sure, the power to arrest is conspicuously absent in Section 50 of the PMLA, said Delhi High Court

Excise case: Court allows Sisodia to sign docs to allocate funds for works

A court here on Thursday allowed former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sidodia, arrested in cases related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, to sign documents to facilitate allocation of funds for development schemes for his assembly constituency. Special Judge M K Nagpal passed the order on an application moved by Sisodia. On an application moved on behalf of A (accused) 8 (Sisodia), he has been permitted to put his signatures, under attestation of the court, on some documents pertaining to approval/allocation of funds for some development schemes pertaining to his Assembly Constituency, the judge said. The judge had earlier allowed a similar application moved by Sisodia in August. Sisodia is currently in judicial custody in corruption and money laundering cases related to the alleged scam being probed by the CBI and ED, respectively. The two central agencies have alleged the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 allowed cartelisation and favoured certain deale

Excise policy case: SC reserves verdict on bail pleas of Manish Sisodia

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on the regular bail pleas of former deputy chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia in corruption and money laundering cases arising out of the Delhi excise policy 'scam'. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti reserved its verdict on two separate bail petitions by Sisodia after hearing his counsel Abhishek Singhvi and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26 for his alleged role in the 'scam'. He has been in custody since then. The ED had arrested Sisodia in a money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 after questioning him in Tihar Jail. Sisodia resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28. The high court had denied him bail in the CBI case on May 30, saying having been the deputy chief minister and excise minister, he is a "high-profile" person

Making AAP accused in Delhi excise policy case not political vendetta: BJP

"The AAP altered the structure of the liquor policy to facilitate 'corruption'. If the party had not engaged in 'theft,' why would the investigative agencies be pursuing it?" he pointed out

Considering making AAP an accused in Delhi excise policy cases: CBI, ED

The CBI and ED told the Supreme Court on Monday they are contemplating making the city's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) an accused in the Delhi excise policy cases. Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing the two probe agencies, told a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti he has instructions to state that the agencies are considering making AAP an accused, invoking legal provisions on "vicarious liability" and section 70 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). However, the bench asked Raju to clarify his stand on Tuesday on whether there will be separate charge against the AAP in cases being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate. Raju made the statement while the bench was hearing the bail pleas of AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who was arrested in the excise policy cases being probed by the CBI and ED. The investigative agencies have often suggested that AAP was a beneficiary of the .

ED conducts raids on erstwhile Bhushan Steel in Rs 56,000 cr 'fraud' case

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday said it has conducted fresh searches against the promoters and entities of erstwhile Bhushan Steel Limited as part of a money laundering probe against them linked to an alleged Rs 56,000 crore bank fraud case. Thirty locations in the national capital region, Haryana, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bhubaneswar (Odisha) were raided and surveyed last week on October 13, officials said. The money laundering case stems from a charge sheet filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, an investigative agency under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. A probe found that the erstwhile Bhushan Steel Limited (BSL) and its Managing Director Neeraj Singal and his associates formed several shell companies, the agency alleged in a statement. After completing the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP), Bhushan Steel was taken over by Tata Steel Ltd in 2018. The ED alleged the promoters and entities linked to BSL "rotated funds from one company to another throu

Cannot keep Sisodia in jail in excise policy cases indefinitely: SC to CBI

The Supreme Court told the CBI and ED on Monday they cannot keep former deputy chief minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia in jail for an "indefinite period" in the Delhi excise policy cases. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti asked Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the two probe agencies, when will the arguments on charges against Sisodia commence in the trial court. "You cannot keep him behind (bars) for an indefinite period. You cannot keep him behind like this. Once a chargesheet is filed in a case, arguments on charge should commence immediately," the bench told Raju. Raju told the bench the cases against Sisodia are at the stage of section 207 of CrPC (supply of documents to the accused) and after that the arguments on charge will commence. "Why have the arguments on charge not yet commenced and when will they commence? Tell us by tomorrow (Tuesday)," Justice Khanna told Raju. The top court was hearing the bail pleas of Sisodia, who was arres

ED attaches over Rs 315 cr worth assets against ex Maha NCP MP, biz groups

The Enforcement Directorate on Sunday said it has attached land, windmills, silver and diamond jewellery and bullion worth more than Rs 315 crore as part of an alleged bank fraud linked money laundering probe against a former NCP MP from Maharashtra, his family and businesses. Ishwarlal Shankarlal Jain Lalwani (77), the former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is the promoter of the Rajmal Lakhichand Jewellers Pvt Ltd, R L Gold Pvt Ltd and Manraj Jewellers among others. The federal agency said in a statement that a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act was issued by it on Friday to attach 70 immovable assets located in Jalgaon, Mumbai, Thane, Sillod (in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra) and Kutch (Gujarat) apart from some windmills, silver and diamond jewellery, bullion and Indian currency valued at a total Rs 315.60 crore in the bank fraud case of Rajmal Lakhichand Jewelers Pvt. Ltd., R L Gold Pvt. Ltd., and Manraj

ED attaches gangster Mukhtar Ansari, son's properties worth Rs 73.43 lakh

The properties had a book value of Rupees 73,43,900 and were acquired by Abbas Ansari at an undervalued consideration of Rupees 71.94 lakh as against the government rate of Rupees 6.23 crore

ED attaches assets over Rs 57 cr in Karuvannur bank money laundering case

A total of 117 immovable properties located in three southern states, deposits in 92 banks and vehicles worth over Rs 57 crore have been attached in a money laundering probe linked to the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank of Kerala, the ED said on Friday. The Enforcement Directorate issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach the assets. The total value of these properties is Rs 57.75 crore. The attached assets include 117 immovable properties consisting of land and buildings in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu; movable properties including 11 vehicles, fixed deposits and credit balances in 92 bank accounts of individuals found actively involved in the offence of money laundering, the federal agency said in a statement. The probe found loans were "illegally" sanctioned and disbursed to these persons and their benamis from the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank Ltd. in cash without sufficient collateral as part of a systematic conspirac

Vivo created "elaborate" network of firms to cheat authorities: ED

The probe agency also said that employees of Vivo and its Indian affiliates concealed their employment with the Chinese firm when seeking visas

Vivo PMLA case: Court extends ED custody of accused by three days

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday sought extension of the custody of four people arrested in a money laundering case against Chinese smart phone maker Vivo, including the managing director of Lava International mobile company and a Chinese national, by 10 days. Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala had on October 10 sent the accused to ED's custody for three days. The four accused- Hari Om Rai, the MD of Lava International company, Chinese national Guangwen alias Andrew Kuang, and Chartered Accountants Nitin Garg and Rajan Malik- were produced in the court on Friday on expiry of their custody. The prosecution sought extension of their custody so they could be interrogated further. It said they had to be confronted with 13 witnesses and digital data from multiple devices had to be extracted. The defence counsel opposed the agency's plea, claiming the ED was engaging in "flagrant violation of procedures". The court is expected to pass an order on ED's applicatio

Excise policy case: AAP's Sanjay Singh sent to judicial custody till Oct 27

A Delhi court on Friday sent AAP leader Sanjay Singh, arrested in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, to judicial custody till October 27. Special Judge M K Nagpal ordered Singh to be sent to jail after the probe agency produced him before the court on expiry of his Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody. During the brief hearing, the judge also directed Singh not to give speech about unrelated matters inside the court. The judge issued the direction after Singh claimed before the court that the ED didn't work on his complaint against Adani. Singh was referring to industrialist Gautam Adani, who is considered close to the ruling establishment at the Centre with which Singh's AAP has been locked in a running feud. No unrelated matter. If you've to give speech about Adani and Modi, I'll ask for your production through video conferencing from now onwards, the judge said. The Rajya Sabha MP claimed before the court that the ED did not ask him relevan

Jharkhand HC dismisses Hemant Soren's petition against ED summons

The Jharkhand High Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, challenging issuance of summons by the ED to him in a case of alleged money laundering. A bench of Chief Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra and Justice Ananda Sen observed that the period of appearance in the summons has already lapsed and hence, there is no merit in the case. The Enforcement Directorate had sent summons to Soren to depose at the federal agency's office in Ranchi on August 14 and on a later date to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Soren had stated in his petition that the summons issued to him by the probe agency were unwarranted. The chief minister moved the high court after the Supreme Court refused to entertain his plea on the summons. A bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Bela M Trivedi, however, had granted him the liberty to approach the Jharkhand High Court for relief in the matter.

Jobs scam: ED grills Banerjee's wife for over 7 hrs, raids different places

The Enforcement Directorate(ED) Wednesday interrogated Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee's wife Rujira for over seven hours in connection with its ongoing probe into the alleged irregularities in the cash-for-jobs scam, an officer said. The grilling began at around 11 am at the ED's office at the Central Government Office Complex in Salt Lake area and is on after 6 pm. Rujira entered the ED's office a little before 11 am as a large posse of team of policemen stood on guard outside it since morning. "We are questioning her on the basis of our findings in the jobs scam. We are asking her about the specific roles of the directors of two companies involved in the alleged scam. She held an important position in both the companies at one point of time. She is being interrogated about that too," the ED official told PTI. The probe body conducted search operations in several rice mills, besides a few shops in at least four places in West Bengal's Nadia district in ...