Page 70 - Enforcement Directorate

SC to hear Rahul Gandhi's appeal against Gujarat HC verdict on July 21

From refusing to pass directions to prohibit the slaughter of cow to reserving verdict on the rules of game for judoicial appointment, here's a list of important developments in the apex court today

Ordinance on services matter was brought as money power: Kejriwal

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday attacked the BJP-led Centre, saying the ordinance on services matter was brought as money power and the threat of the ED and the CBI failed in Delhi. In a speech in the Assembly, he also claimed that the BJP has brought the "Sanghi" model of democracy through the Services Bill while asserting that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be fought on the issue of full statehood for the national capital. Kejriwal alleged that the "democratic rights of the people of Delhi were trampled through the ordinance and the bill". "There are several styles of democratic systems like the Westminister style and parliamentary style. These people (BJP) have brought the Sanghi style of democracy through this bill," he said. "The ordinance on services matter was brought because money power and the threat of the ED and the CBI had failed in Delhi," he added. Kejriwal also claimed that recently, someone from BJP had threatened him, saying, "We will make you bow ...

Soren unlikely to appear before ED for questioning in money laundering case

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is unlikely to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here on Monday in connection with a money laundering case, a source said. The ED had on August 8 summoned Soren to depose on August 14 at the federal agency's office here and record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. "The chief minister is unlikely to appear before the ED today in view of his busy schedule. He may request for another date from the agency," the source said. Soren was to be questioned in an alleged defence land scam case. The 48-year-old Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader was interrogated for over nine hours by the ED on November 18 last year in another money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining in the state. The central probe agency is investigating more than a dozen land deals, including one related to defence land, wherein a group of land mafia, middlemen and bureaucrats allegedly connived to forge deeds and documents of as long back

CBI, ED work independently, no interference from govt: Jitendra Singh

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said probe agencies like the CBI and the ED operate independently and the central government does not interfere in their work. Responding to a question regarding opposition parties' allegations of misuse of the investigating agencies by the Centre, he told reporters here that the earlier UPA regime rather used them for their political interests. "Those who say that the present government is using or misusing all these institutions Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) are at least speaking of their own mindset." "They are speaking of UPA times when they were indulging like this. (When) they were manipulating the agencies to their advantage, to their political interest to the extent that the Supreme Court was constrained to say the term caged parrot," said Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel. He said the remarks of "caged parrot" was made when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was at

ED produces Balaji before city court after custody ends, remand till Aug 25

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday produced Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji, who was arrested in connection with a money laundering case, before a sessions court here, after completion of its custody. Principal Sessions Judge S Alli before whom Senthil Balaji was produced by the ED, remanded him to judicial custody till August 25. The judge had on August 7 permitted the ED to take custody of Senthil Balaji for 5 days for the purpose of interrogation in connection with the case. Since the custody came to an end on Saturday, the ED produced him before the judge. Balaji was arrested in June in connection with a cash-for-jobs scam while being Transport minister in the earlier AIADMK regime.

ED probes Karat-Singham email exchange, fund transfers to scribes

The ED, according to the sources, is investigating the 'end use' of the funds

Delhi HC seeks ED's stand on bail plea by Vijay Nair in Excise policy case

The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the stand of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on a plea by businessman and Aam Aadmi Party's communication in-charge Vijay Nair seeking default bail in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma issued notice on the bail application and granted time to the investigation agency to file its reply. Nair, who was arrested on November 13, 2022, was refused default bail in the case by the trial court on July 29. The trial court had dismissed the bail plea, saying it was not the competent or an appropriate forum to consider the grounds of default bail of the accused and the appropriate course would be to approach the same judge or bench of the high court, which had earlier dismissed his bail plea, with a request for consideration of the point. Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Nair, contended before the high court that the ED filed piecemeal charge sheets in the matter and the accused was

ED summons Jharkhand CM for interrogation in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for interrogation in a money laundering case, an official said here on Tuesday. He has been asked to depose on August 14 at the federal agency's office here and record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the official said. He is expected to be questioned in an alleged defence land scam case. The 47-year-old Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader was interrogated for over nine hours by the ED in November last year in another money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining in the state. Neither Soren nor his office has reacted to the fresh summons. BJP MP from the state Deepak Prakash Tuesday demanded Soren's resignation alleging that he was involved in the defence land scam in connivance with corrupt bureaucrats of the state. Claiming to have been the first to have exposed the defence land scam, he said "We had requested the ED to investigate the case. Today, the result is that aft

ED seizes Rs 1,144 cr crime proceeds, arrests 20 in crypto fraud cases

The Enforcement Directorate has seized proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 1,144 crore and arrested 20 persons in cases related to frauds in cryptocurrency/ virtual digital assets, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said on Monday. Further, under Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) assets amounting to Rs 270.18 crore have been seized under section 37A of FEMA and one show cause notice to cryptocurrency exchange Zanmai Labs Pvt Ltd, known as WazirX, and its Directors under FEMA for transactions involving cryptocurrencies worth Rs 2,790.74 crore has also been issued. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, as per the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the anonymity associated with virtual assets attracts criminals. "The Directorate of Enforcement is investigating several cases related to crypto currency / virtual digital currency frauds wherein a few crypto exchanges have also been found involved in money laundering," Chaudhary said. The ED has taken action as per ..

SC dismisses plea of Senthil Balaji against HC order allowing ED custody

A bench of Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh while dismissing the plea of Balaji allowed his custodial interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate in cash for a job scam

ED finds Rs 22 lakh from driver's house after raids against Senthil Balaji

Unaccounted valuables worth more than Rs 16 lakh and Rs 22 lakh in cash were allegedly recovered from the premises of a driver after fresh searches were conducted against Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji and others in connection with a money laundering probe, the Enforcement Directorate said on Saturday. The searches were undertaken on August 3 in Coimbatore and Karur districts of the state, covering nine locations linked to Balaji, who is currently lodged at Puzhal central jail in Chennai under judicial custody. Balaji (47) continues to be a minister without portfolio in M K Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on June 14 in the money laundering case linked to the alleged cash-for-jobs scam in the state transport department. The ED said it undertook the fresh raids after it got "intelligence inputs" that Balaji's "close associate" S T Saminathan "possessed incriminating documents/proceeds of crime and was attempting to ...

Companies competing with Adani for prized assets faced CBI, ED raids: Cong

The Congress on Saturday cited the takeover of a cement company to allege that probe agencies were being misused by the BJP government to "enrich" a select few crony capitalists. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed that in sectors such as airports, ports and cement, companies competing with the Adani Group for prized assets have faced CBI, ED and Income Tax raids "that have dissuaded them from proceeding with their bids, and the assets have ultimately gone to Adani". "In our Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK) series of 100 questions for Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, the Congress party had pointed out how the Adani Group has repeatedly profited from well-timed, Modi-made raids by investigative agencies on its business competitors," he said in a statement. "The latest episode involves the takeover of Sanghi Industries by the Adani-owned Ambuja Cements," Ramesh said. "Aap chronology samjhiye: April 28, 2023: India's third-largest cement producer Shree Cement is reported to b

ED takes possession of villas, land in money laundering case against PFI

The Enforcement Directorate has taken possession of four villas and 6.75 acres of land in Kerala's Munnar district as part of a money laundering investigation against the banned Popular Front of India. The assets are worth a total Rs 2.53 crore (book value) and belong to Munnar Villa Vista Pvt Ltd. They were provisionally attached by the federal probe agency on January 7 and the adjudicating authority of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) confirmed it on June 30, the ED said in a statement on Saturday. The order of the adjudicating authority paved way for the agency to take possession of the land and the four villas, it said. The Popular Front of India (PFI) was banned under provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in September last year over its alleged links with terror activities. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said PFI leaders and members associated with overseas entities were developing a residential project -- Munnar Villa Vista Project (MVVP)

Excise policy cases: Interim bail pleas of Sisodia to be heard on Sept 4

According to the two federal investigative agencies, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours were extended to licence holders.

ED conducts fresh searches in money laundering case against TN minister

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted fresh searches in connection with its ongoing money laundering investigation against Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji and others, official sources said. They said premises linked to some entities being probed in this case and alleged benamidars (in whose name a benami property is standing) were being raided in Coimbatore and Karur. Balaji continues to be a minister without portfolio in the Tamil Nadu government even after his arrest by the ED on June 14 in a money laundering case linked an alleged cash-for-jobs scam in the Tamil Nadu transport department. The federal probe agency told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that Balaji was preventing it from exercising its right of custodial interrogation and the apex court reserved its verdict on the pleas of the DMK leader and his spouse challenging his arrest. The top court had on July 21 sought the ED's response on the petitions filed by Balaji and his wife Megala challenging the Jul

Top headlines: Tomato to hit Rs 300 in coming days, ED raids Pawan Munjal

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ED seizes Rs 25 cr worth of cash, jewellery in raids on Munjal, others

Foreign and Indian currencies and gold and diamond jewellery worth about Rs 25 crore apart from "incriminating" documents were seized after raids on Hero MotoCorp executive chairperson Pawan Kant Munjal and some others, the Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday. The federal agency raided the residences and offices of the 69-year-old billionaire businessman, the promoter of India's largest two-wheeler automobiles manufacturer, in Delhi and neighbouring Gurugram apart from that of some other entities on Tuesday. It said in a statement that a "third party service provider" company, identified as Salt Experience and Management Pvt. LTd. (SEMPL), "illegally exported foreign currency equivalent to about Rs 54 crore to various countries during the period 2014-2015 to 2018-2019 which was ultimately used for personal expenses of P K Munjal." Foreign and Indian currencies and gold and diamond jewellery worth about Rs 25 crore apart from "incriminating" documents were seized from the ...

SC reserves verdict on pleas of Senthil Balaji, wife against his arrest

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on pleas of Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji and his wife Megala challenging the Madras High Court order upholding his arrest in a money laundering case. The arguments heard. Judgement reserved, a bench comprising justices A S Bopanna and M M Sundresh said after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the minister, concluded their submissions. Presenting its arguments, the anti-money laundering agency said it has the requisite power to arrest and interrogate the accused minister in its custody in order to collect evidence and ensure corroboration. On the other hand, Rohatgi, assisted by lawyer Amit Anand Tiwari, said ED has no vested right to interrogate an accused in custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Balaji, who continues to be a minister without portfolio in the Tamil Nadu government even after his arrest on Jun

Hero Moto falls 7% from day's high amid report of PMLA case against Munjal

According to reports, a case has been registered against Chairman Pawan Munjal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002

ED raids Hero MotoCorp Chairman Munjal's residence; PMLA case registered

The DRI had recently apprehended a close aide of Pawan Munjal in possession of undeclared foreign currency