Page 78 - Enforcement Directorate

Manappuram in freefall as ED freezes Rs 143 cr-assets; sinks 21% in 3 days

With today's fall, the stock has lost 21 per cent since Wednesday, May 3 when the ED had first began searches at the company's premises

Bank loan fraud: ED raids businessman who donated Rs 2.5 cr to UK party

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has raided a Delhi-based rice company and its promoter, who donated about Rs 2.5 crore to a political party in the UK, as part of a money laundering probe linked to an alleged bank loan fraud of over Rs 1,200 crore. Twenty-one locations in Delhi and Gurugram of Amira Pure Foods Private Limited and its promoter Karan A Chanana were raided by the federal probe agency on May 2. The money laundering case stems from a 2020 CBI FIR that was filed against the accused on allegations of "causing wrongful loss to the tune of Rs 1,201.85 crore to the consortium of banks led by Canara Bank". "The accused entities in connivance with each other as well as other related/un-related entities have illegally diverted loan funds sanctioned by the consortium of banks by way of transferring loan funds into the accounts of various shell entities under the guise of genuine business transactions. "It was also known that Karan A Chanana had donated 250,00

ED freezes Rs 143-crore assets of Manappuram Finance MD & CEO after raids

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has frozen assets worth Rs 143 crore of prominent Kerala-based NBFC Manappuram Finance Ltd's MD and CEO V P Nandakumar after it conducted raids as part of a money laundering investigation. A total of six premises in Thrissur, where the company is headquartered, were covered during the searches that were launched on Wednesday. The case pertains to allegations of money laundering through "illegal" collection of deposits from the public, the agency said in a statement. During the course of searches, the ED said, it was found that the proceeds of crime have been "diverted and invested" by V P Nandakumar into immovable properties in his name, in the name of his spouse and children and into the shares of Manappuram Finance Ltd. "Hence, ED has freezed the assets of V P Nandakumar under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), totalling Rs 143 crore," it said. The frozen assets include deposits kept in eight bank accounts, investment i

Delhi liquor policy: ED files fresh charge sheet naming Manish Sisodia

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday field a fresh charge sheet in the Delhi excise policy linked money laundering case naming AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, sources said. Sisodia was arrested by the ED in this case on March 9 from Tihar Jail and he is currently in judicial custody. The 51-year-old Aam Aadmi Party leader was first arrested by the CBI, which is also probing this case. This is the fifth charge sheet or prosecution complaint filed in the case by the ED before a designated special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Delhi. The agency has called Sisodia a "key conspirator" in this case. The federal agency has arrested 12 people including Sisodia in this case till now, in which it has said, the probe is continuing. It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge str

Excise policy case: Delhi HC seeks ED's response on Sisodia's bail plea

The Delhi High Court sought Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s response on Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's bail plea in the now-scrapped excise policy case

Tax evasion case: Xiaomi moves Karnataka High Court to challenge FD seizure

Xiaomi India's market share in the Indian handset industry has been steadily falling as a result of the legal problems

Govt asks SC to not rush in granting legal validation to same-sex marriage

The apex court on Wednesday heard a plea in the same-sex marriage case and 7 women wrestler moved SC seeking permission to file an affidavit

Is he so indispensable? SC asks Centre over extension given to ED Director

"Can one person be so indispensable?" the Supreme Court asked the government on Wednesday as it questioned it about the third extension of service given to ED Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra despite its express direction that no further extension shall be granted to him. The top court said it had categorically held in its 2021 judgement that any extension of tenure granted to officers holding the post of Director of Enforcement after attaining the age of superannuation should be for a short period and clearly mentioned that no further extension will be given to Mishra. "Is there is no other person in the organisation who can do his job? Can one person be so indispensable? "According to you, there is no one else in ED who is competent? What will happen post to the agency post-2023, when he does retire?" a bench of Justices BR Gavai, Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented the Centre. The barrage of questions from the bench came after the ...

Manappuram Finance slumps 14% as ED raids premises in money laundering case

As per PTI, the raids were being undertaken to gather evidences related to allegations that the company collected public deposits worth over Rs 150 crore in contravention of RBI guidelines

Not named as accused in any ED complaint in Delhi excise policy: Raghav

AAP leader Raghav Chadha on Tuesday said media reports that claimed he has been named as an accused in a charge sheet filed by the ED in a Delhi Excise policy-linked case were "factually wrong" and appear to be part of a "propaganda" to harm his reputation and credibility. In a supplementary charge sheet filed in a money-laundering case linked to the excise policy, the ED has accused the AAP of using a part of the Rs 100 crore kickbacks allegedly received from the 'south group' liquor lobby to meet its expenditure for the Goa Assembly poll campaign in 2022. The charge sheet carried the name of Chadha, a Rajya Sabha MP, as part of a statement of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's Secretary C Arvind. He was not named as an accused in it. "...that at Dy CM's (Sisodia's) residence there was a meeting of Raghav Chadha, ACS Finance of Punjab Govt, Excise Commissioner, Sh Varun Roojam, FCT and officers from Punjab Excise where Vijay Nair was also present," the ED said. So

SC to hear plea challenging remission of convicts in Bilkis case on May 9

From deferring to hearing a plea in connection with the remission of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case to The Kerala Story controversy, here's a look at important cases heard in SC today

ED raid likely to hit edtech giant Byju's $700-million fundraising plan

The Bengaluru-based firm, which achieved a valuation of $22 billion in a funding round in March last year, is in the process of raising $700 million from investors, according to the sources

Delhi excise case: Raghav Chadha, Sanjay Singh named in ED charge sheet

According to the charge sheet, Chadha was part of a meeting which was held at Manish Sisodia's residence in connection with the liquor policy case

Over Rs 192 cr crime proceeds generated in Delhi excise policy 'scam': ED

Referring to accused Arun Pillai, the ED alleged that he actively participated in the generation of the PoC

EdTech startup Byju's seeks to reassure workers after office raid

More than 70 investors have invested in Byju's and they have conducted thorough due diligence, he said. "We are confident that the authorities will also come to the same conclusion," he added

ED searches: Byju's CEO says brought more FDI to India than any other firm

After financial crime-fighting agency ED searched Byju's premises, the education platform's CEO Byju Raveendran wrote to employees saying the company brought more FDI to India than any other startup and that the firm fully complies with all applicable foreign exchange laws. India's most valuable startup, Byju's was once valued at USD 22 billion and has attracted global investors such as General Atlantic, BlackRock and Sequoia Capital. "As we are funded by 70+ impact investors who have satisfactorily done due diligence on our operations, including all FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) compliance, we are confident that the authorities will also come to the same conclusion," Raveendran said in the memo sent late on Saturday, which was seen by PTI. ED had on Saturday searched three premises in Bengaluru linked to the company over alleged foreign exchange law violations. Searches at 'Think & Learn Private Limited' (Byju's online learning platform) yielded "various incriminating ...

ED raids BYJU's under FEMA, yet to submit financial results since FY21

The latest funding round news appeared as the company is aiming to repay a huge $1.2 billion term loan B it had secured in November 2021

ED searches Byju Ravindran's offices, residential premises in Bengaluru

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday said it has searched the Bengaluru-located office and residential premises of Edtech major BYJU's CEO Raveendran Bjyu and seized "incriminating" documents and digital data as part of a foreign exchange violation probe. A total of three premises, two business and one residential, were raided recently under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), it said in a statement. The agency said it has seized various incriminating documents and digital data. It said the action was taken on the basis of "various complaints" received by private people and alleged that Raveendran Bjyu was issued "several" summons but he remained "evasive and never appeared" before the ED. The searches found that his company, Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd., received foreign direct investment (FDI) to the tune of about Rs 28,000 crore during 2011-2023. "The company also remitted about Rs 9,754 crore to various foreign jurisdictions during the same period in ..

ED seizes Rs 3.44-cr in money laundering case against online betting

The Enforcement Directorate Friday said it has frozen 93 bank accounts and seized Rs 3.44 crore as part of a money laundering investigation linked to an illegal online betting case in Gujarat. The action was taken under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after the federal agency on Thursday searched five accounts held at an IDFC First Bank branch in Surat. The case pertains to alleged betting activities carried out through "fake and dummy" bank accounts by Harish alias Kamlesh Jariwala and others. The bets were being placed on mobile apps called CBTF247.com and T20 EXCHANGE.com, the ED said in a statement. Following the search in the bank, Rs 3.44 crore deposited in five accounts held by Mitalia Enterprise, R M Enterprise, D M Enterprises, Vishwakarma Traders and XBT Labs Pvt. Ltd. with IDFC First Bank has been frozen under the provisions of the PMLA, it said. Further, 93 bank accounts, including the five bank accounts, "related and involved in .

ED attaches assets worth Rs 54 cr in 2014 Rose Valley money laundering case

The total value of assets attached in the 2014 money laundering case linked with the Rose Valley Group has risen to more than Rs 1,171 crore with the Enforcement Directorate Friday saying it has seized properties worth Rs 54 crore in the case. The attached properties comprise insurance policies in the name of Rose Valley Group chairman Gautam Kundu and his wife, buildings and plots of land in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, which were found to have been acquired by the companies of the group from the funds collected from the gullible investors, the probe agency said. Gautam Kundu, who was arrested by the ED in March 2015, continues to be in judicial custody. "The Rose Valley Group collected funds from the common gullible public by floating fake and fictitious schemes and defaulted on the re-payments," the agency said. The total value of assets attached in this case to date is Rs 1,171.71 crore, including fresh properties worth Rs 54 crore seized provisionally un