Page 69 - Enforcement Directorate

BJP suffers from Abhishek phobia, TMC claims as leader appears before ED

The Trinamool Congress on Wednesday lashed out at the BJP for allegedly manipulating central probe agencies to meet its political interests and accused it of suffering from "Abhishek phobia" in the backdrop of the ED summoning its general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. Banerjee, considered number 2 in the TMC, on Wednesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in Kolkata for questioning in connection with its probe into the school jobs scam in West Bengal. "The BJP has been using CBI and ED to serve its political interests. But they can't force us to surrender before them using central agencies. We have faith in the people. The BJP is suffering from Abhishek phobia as they have been unable to fight us politically," TMC MP and spokesperson Santanu Sen told PTI. Banerjee on Sunday posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he has been notified by the central probe agency to appear before it for questioning on September 13, when the first coordination committee meeting of the opposition .

Bigg Boss fame actor Kriti Verma named in ED chargesheet in fraud case

During the investigation, it was discovered that Kriti Verma had sold a property in Gurugram, which was acquired with Rs 1.02 crore of proceeds from the crime

The Rise and Grounding of Jet Airways' Naresh Goyal

On 1st September 2023, Goyal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged money laundering. Watch the video to know about the rise and fall of Naresh Goyal. >

Irregularities in execution of Jal Jeevan Mission: ED seizes cash, gold bar

Unaccounted cash of Rs 2.32 crore and a gold bar worth Rs 64 lakh were seized after searches in multiple cities of Rajasthan in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the execution of the Centre's Jal Jeevan Mission scheme, the Enforcement Directorate said on Monday. The raids were launched on September 1 at various premises located in state capital Jaipur, Alwar, Neemrana, Behror and Shahpura, it said in a statement The money laundering case stems from a Rajasthan anti-corruption bureau (ACB) FIR which alleged that Padamchand Jain, proprietor of Shree Shyam Tubewell Company, Mahesh Mittal, proprietor of Shree Ganpati Tubewell Company and others were involved in "giving bribes" to public servants in order to obtain illegal protection, obtaining tenders, getting bills sanctioned and covering up irregularities in respect of work executed by them in respect of various tenders received by them from the public health and engineering department (PHED). "The suspects .

ED seizes over Rs 65 cr of Venkateshwara Hatcheries in FEMA probe

Nine properties worth more than Rs 65 crore of prominent hatchery company-- Venkateshwara Hatcheries Pvt Ltd-- have been seized under the foreign exchange law for allegedly making illegal foreign remittances to purchase a 90-acre house in the UK, the Enforcement Directorate said on Monday. The seized assets are located in Maharashtra and Karnataka and the ED case, being probed under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), pertains to these remittances made by the company from 2011 to its wholly-owned subsidiary named Venky's Overseas Limited (VOL), UK. The total value of these properties is Rs 65.53 crore, according to the ED. Venkateshwara Hatcheries Pvt Ltd (VHPL), the agency said in a statement, had declared the business of VOL to the RBI as agriculture and mining (rearing of ducks, hens etc). After the incorporation of the VOL, the VHPL remitted "huge funds" in the guise of equity infusion. "However, no such business activity was ever initiated by VOL eve

Flying solo into trouble: The rise and fall of Jet Airways' Naresh Goyal

Goyal, who faces accusations of misappropriating Jet Airways' funds, is currently embroiled in a legal struggle with investigative agencies

ED arrests Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal in Rs 538 cr bank fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate late Friday night arrested Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal in a money laundering case linked to an alleged bank fraud of Rs 538 crore at the Canara Bank, official sources said. He was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following a long session of questioning at the central agency's office here. Goyal, 74, is expected to be produced before a special PMLA court in Mumbai on Saturday where the ED will seek for his custodial remand. The money laundering case stems from an FIR of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Jet Airways, Goyal, his wife Anita and some former company executives in connection with an alleged Rs 538-crore fraud case at the Canara Bank. The FIR was registered on the bank's complaint which alleged that it sanctioned credit limits and loans to Jet Airways (India) Ltd (JIL) to the tune of Rs 848.86 crore of which Rs 538.62 crore is outstanding. The CBI had said the account was declared "frau

Rajasthan elections: Corruption is rampant in the judiciary says CM Gehlot

The chief minister alleged that agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax department conduct raids without making prior assessments

ED conducts raids in Rajasthan to probe 'Jal Jeevan Mission' irregularities

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted multi-city searches in Rajasthan as part of a money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Centre's 'Jal Jeevan Mission' in the Congress-ruled state, official sources said. A number of premises belonging to engineers, contractors and some former state government officials in Jaipur, Alwar and a few other cities are being searched, they said. The searches are being conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Some documents and gadgets have been recovered till now, the sources said. The money laundering case is understood to have stemmed from a Rajasthan Police FIR. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena had in June alleged a scam of Rs 20,000 crore in the implementation of the 'Jal Jeevan Mission' in Rajasthan. He had alleged that tenders worth Rs 900 crore were issued to two firms based on fake experience certificates in 48 projects of the scheme. "A s

ED attaches FDs of Sree Venkateshwara Industries under PMLA violations

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has attached fixed deposits worth Rs 90 lakh of a Hyderabad-based company in a money laundering case against it linked to alleged dumping of hazardous waste in violation of anti-pollution laws. The action has been taken against the company, Sree Venkateshwara Industries, under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), it said in a statement. The money laundering case of the ED stems from a complaint filed by the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) before the court of Metropolitan Magistrate, Cyberabad at Medchal. It was alleged by the board that the company was disposing "hazardous waste material without proper treatment in violation of the prescribed rules and regulations stipulated by the TSPCB under various sections of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act." Sree Venkateshwara Industries and its partners "did not" comply

ED arrests 2 directors of WB firm that duped investors through ponzi scheme

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said it has arrested two directors of a West Bengal-based company that allegedly ran a ponzi scheme and diverted Rs 1,786 crore worth of public funds. Prabir Kumar Chanda and Pranab Kumar Das, directors of MPS Greenery Developers Limited, were arrested on August 24 and a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kolkata sent them to ED custody till September 1, the central agency said in a statement. MPS Greenery Developers Limited raised funds of about Rs 2,682 crore during 1999-2000 to 2013-2014 from investors through various "fraudulent" income schemes, by issuing agro, orchard and teak bonds in violation of norms of banking regulator RBI and markets regular SEBI, it alleged. The company was controlled and managed by its CMD Pramatha Nath Manna, the two arrested directors and other associates. The ED alleged that the accused "diverted" public funds of Rs 1,786 crore to subsidiary and associate companies of MPS Greener

Special court extends DMK minister Senthil Balaji's remand till Monday

A Special Court trying cases relating to MPs and MLAs of Tamil Nadu on Friday extended the remand of DMK Minister V Senthil Balaji, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) till August 28, 2023. Special Judge Sivakumar, before whom Balaji was produced through video conferencing by the jail authorities, extended the minister's remand to judicial custody till Monday. Directing the jail authorities to produce Senthil Balaji physically before the court, the judge posted to August 28, further hearing of the case. After several rounds of litigation before the courts up to the level of Supreme Court, the Enforcement Directorate had on August 7 taken custody of Balaji for five days and after the completion of the period, it had produced him before Principal Sessions Judge S Alli, who remanded him to judicial custody till August 25. The ED had also filed a charge sheet running to about 3,000 pages before the PSJ on the same day. The PSJ had on August 14 taken the charge sheet on file

Jharkhand CM Soren moves SC against ED summons in money laundering case

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) summons against him in connection with a money laundering case

Hindenburg 2.0? Soros-backed OCCRP said to be planning another 'expose'

Months after a US short seller shook markets with a damning report on the Adani group, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) - an organisation funded by likes of George Soros and Rockefeller Brothers Fund - is said to be planning another 'expose' on certain corporate houses in India, sources said. OCCRP, which calls itself "an investigative reporting platform formed by 24 nonprofit investigative centres... spread across Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, may publish a report or a series of articles, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. An email sent to OCCRP seeking comments remained unanswered. Founded in 2006, OCCRP claims to specialize in reporting on organized crime and largely publishes these news articles through partnerships with media houses. On its website, it identifies the Open Society Foundations of George Soros, a financier with a penchant for funding radical causes around the world, as one of the institutional donors. Others ...

ED files charge sheet against Supertech's chairman in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Thursday filed a charge sheet against R K Arora, chairman and promoter of real estate major Supertech Group, his company, and eight others in a money laundering case, accusing them of hatching a "criminal conspiracy" to cheat home buyers. They have been accused of defrauding at least 670 home buyers of Rs 164 crore. The nearly 100-page prosecution complaint, ED's equivalent of charge sheet, was filed before Special Judge Devender Kumar Jangala, claiming there was sufficient evidence to prosecute Arora for laundering money. The court posted the matter for August 28 for taking cognisance of the charge sheet. Arora was arrested on June 27 under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after three rounds of questioning. The money-laundering case against the Supertech group, its directors and promoters stems from a clutch of FIRs registered by police in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. ED's Special Public Prosecutor N K

Rajasthan elections: CM calls ED raids in Chhattisgarh a 'birthday gift'

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot referred to recent Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids in Chhattisgarh as a birthday gift for Bhupesh Baghel, as these raids often occur around election times

Bhupesh Baghel's political advisor denies involvement in money laundering

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's political advisor Vinod Verma on Thursday claimed he does not have a "single penny" of ill-gotten money, a day after the Enforcement Directorate conducted a search at his residence. Addressing a press conference here, Vinod Verma also said he has no connection with assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Chandrabhushan Verma, arrested along with three others by the ED on Wednesday in a money laundering case linked to the alleged illegal betting app called 'Mahadev Online Book'. Alleged hawala operator brothers Anil and Sunil Dammani and a man identified as Satish Chandrakar are the three others arrested in the case. According to the ED, the probe has found that around Rs 65 crore cash was received by ASI Chandrabhushan Verma. He kept his cut and distributed the rest as bribes to senior police officers and politicians, it claimed. The ED on Wednesday conducted searches at the premises of Vinod Verma, who is also a member of the All India Congress .

ED freezes Rs 28 lakh deposits of Kerala CPI(M) MLA Moideen, wife

The ED on Wednesday said it has frozen bank and fixed deposits worth Rs 28 lakh of Kerala CPI(M) MLA A C Moideen and his wife, a day after conducting searches against him and others in a money laundering case. The case is linked to the alleged Rs 150 crore fraud in the party-controlled Karuvannur cooperative bank. The searches, launched at five locations across Kerala on Tuesday, have also led to the "seizure of 36 properties valued at Rs 15 crore, being proceeds of crime", it said in a statement. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said the raids were conducted to probe "benamis and beneficiaries who siphoned off bank funds of more than Rs 150 crore from Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank Ltd". Two orders were issued for freezing bank deposits and fixed deposits worth Rs 28 lakh found to be in the "possession of" A C Moideen and his wife, the ED said. It said the probe has found that "on the instructions of certain persons, who were district-level leaders and committee members of .

ED raids aimed at tarnishing INDIA bloc's image before 2024 polls: Congress

The Congress, a constituent of the ruling JMM-led coalition in Jharkhand, on Wednesday described ED raids at premises linked to a state minister's son and some others as a 'political vendetta' at the behest of the BJP government at the Centre to tarnish the image of opposition bloc INDIA before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Several of the places raided by the ED as part of a money laundering investigation in connection with an alleged liquor scam in the state were linked to senior Congress leader and Finance Minister Rameshwar Oroan's son Rohit Oraon. "The ED raids are nothing but an action of a political vendetta at the behest of the BJP at the Centre to tarnish the image of the INDIA alliance before the 2024 parliamentary elections," Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur told PTI. He demanded that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) should clarify its stance first. The Congress leader asked, Is the ED conducting similar raids in the entire country, or liquor is sold only in Jharkha

ED raids in Chhattisgarh show BJP afraid of election results: Congress

The Congress on Wednesday said the ongoing Enforcement Directorate "raids" in Chhattisgarh were a reaction to the pre-poll surveys predicting a "massive rout" for the BJP, and asserted that its government will not get bogged down by such "threats". The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted searches at the premises of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's political advisor Vinod Verma and an Officer on Special Duty (OSD), sources said. Reacting to the development, Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, "The ongoing ED raids in Chattisgarh are a clear reaction to all the pre-poll surveys that have predicted a massive rout for the BJP." "Our pro-people Congress government will not get bogged down by such threats. We have the power of the people behind us," Khera said in a post on X. The ED searches were also held at the premises of a businessman in Durg. The exact case in connection with which the searches were being conducted was not yet