Page 79 - Enforcement Directorate

Excise 'scam': Delhi court denies bail to Sisodia in money laundering case

A Delhi court on Friday dismissed the bail application of AAP leader Manish Sisodia in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam. Special Judge M K Nagpal denied the relief to Sisodia, saying the stage was not fit to grant him bail. The judge had reserved the order after hearing arguments on Sisodia's plea seeking relief claiming that his custody was no longer required for investigation. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had opposed the application, asserting the investigation was at a "crucial" stage and claiming the senior AAP leader had planted fabricated e-mails to show there was public approval for the policy. The federal agency also said it had found fresh evidence of his complicity in the alleged crime. The court had on March 31 dismissed Sisodia's bail application in a corruption case, being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), saying he was "prima facie the architect" in the criminal conspiracy behind alleged payment of advance kickb

Delhi excise scam: ED files supplementary charge sheet before Delhi court

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday filed a supplementary charge sheet against businessmen Arun Ramchandra Pillai and Amandeep Singh Dhall in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam. The supplementary charge sheet, third in the case, is likely to come up for consideration before Special Judge M K Nagpal on Friday. The ED did not name former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is currently in judicial custody in connection with the case, in the latest charge sheet. The agency said that the investigation against Sisodia is underway and a final report will be filed on him later. According to the latest charge sheet, ED has charged that Hyderabad-based businessman Pillai was a close associate of Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLC K Kavitha and he is required to be confronted with other accused in the case. Dhall was the executive director of Brindco Sales Private Limited, which was a major importer and distributor of a variety of liquor brands and rel

Excise scam: Court reserves order on cognisance point on ED's charge sheet

A Delhi court on Monday reserved its order on whether to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's supplementary charge sheet filed in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. Special Judge MK Nagpal fixed May 1 for pronouncing the order on ED's second supplementary prosecution complaint (ED's equivalent of a charge sheet) in the case naming three individuals -- Raghav Magunta, Rajesh Joshi and Gautam Malhotra -- and five related companies. The judge reserved the order after hearing arguments by ED's Special Public Prosecutor N K Matta, who said there was enough evidence to prosecute the accused named in the documents for the offence of money laundering. The ED also said further investigation was underway against the accused named in the case as well as other individuals and companies. The court has reserved order on the bail application Joshi and Malhotra for April 28. The ED's money laundering case stems from a CBI FIR.

Bengal municipalities recruitment scam estimated at Rs 200 crore: ED

The ED has maintained that during the course of raid and search operations at the residence of private real estate promoter Ayan Shil in connection with the multi- crore teachers' recruitment scam

ED seizes crypto currencies, assets of Rs 34.75 cr in illegal forex trading

The ED investigation has revealed that the online trading app and website are operating in India in association with India based entity OctaFx India Pvt. Ltd

SC adjourns hearing plea against decision to extend ED director's tenure

The Supreme Court adjourned the hearing on the petitions challenging the Centre decision dated November 17, 2022, whereby the govt has extended the 3rd tenure of director of Enforcement Directorate

SC adjourns hearing on pleas challenging tenure extension of ED director

The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned till May 3 the hearing on pleas challenging the amended law allowing extension of up to five years for the director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). A three-judge bench of Justices B R Gavai, Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol deferred the matter after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought adjournment on grounds that he was busy in the constitution bench hearing on the issue of legalisation of same-sex marriage. "Mr Solicitor, you make some alternative arrangements. We can't keep the matter adjourning like this. Make some arrangements. We don't want any impression to be carried that the government is unnecessarily delaying," the bench said. Mehta submitted that nobody anticipated that constitution bench matters would commence when this date was fixed. On Solicitor General's request, the bench posted the matter for hearing on May 3. The top court had earlier disagreed with the Centre's submission that petitions challenging the amended law allow

ED attaches Karti Chidambaram's properties worth Rs 11.04 cr in INX case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it has attached properties to the tune of Rs 11.04 crore belonging to Congress MP Karti Chidambaram in the INX Media money laundering case, an official statement said here. Out of four attached properties, one is an immovable asset located in Coorg district of Karnataka, the federal agency said in a statement. The ED issued a provisional order, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), for attaching the assets worth Rs 11.04 crore. Karti Chidambaram, 51, is the son of former Union minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram and is a sitting Congress MP from Sivaganga Lok Sabha seat in Tamil Nadu. He was arrested in the INX case by the ED as well as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The ED had filed a criminal case under the PMLA in 2017 to probe alleged irregularities in the grant of FIPB approval to INX Media group. INX Media got its FIPB (foreign investment promotion board) approvals in 2007-08 when P ..

ED arrests ex-sepoy for conducting raids posing as investigating officer

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested its former sepoy for conducting a fake raid at a shop in Kolkata impersonating as the investigating officer and issuing "forged" summons to an accused to extort money, the agency said Tuesday. Sukumar Kamaliya, holding the rank of a head constable in the paramilitary force SSB, worked with the ED at its Kolkata office on deputation between 2019-2020, the agency said in a statement. He was taken into custody on April 16 and later produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kolkata. The court sent him to ED custody till April 29, the agency said. He was found to be involved in conducting unauthorised search operation (by way of impersonation) in Kolkata and also issuing forged/fraudulent summons to one of the persons under investigation by impersonating the investigating officer," the ED alleged. The sepoy, in one case, obtained information about the investigation being conducted against a person in an ...

Excise Case: Delhi HC seeks ED's response on Amandeep Singh Dhall bail plea

Amandeep Singh Dhall is presently confined in Tihar Jail in Judicial Custody in connection with a money maundering case, which is tied to excise case

Excise policy case: Court extends Sisodia's judicial custody by 2 weeks

A court here on Monday extended former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's judicial custody by two weeks in connection with the excise policy case being investigated by the ED

SC stays order asking WB not to file FIRs against ED officers probing scam

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Calcutta High Court's April 13 order directing the West Bengal police not to lodge any FIR against CBI and Enforcement Directorate officers probing the school jobs-for-bribes scam. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwalam, which decided to hear the plea on April 24, also stayed the direction of a single judge bench of the high court that TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee and Kuntal Ghosh, an accused in the case, can be questioned by the ED and the CBI and such "interrogation should be made soon." "The petition was in the mentioning list. Dr A M Singhvi has adverted to the contents of the order and the directions passed by which the ED and CBI have been directed to file a report with respect to a probe in connection with a public speech by Abhishek Banerjee. List on April 24, 2023. Till the next date of listing, there shall be stay on all action against petitioner in relation to the directions ...

Seizures total Rs 170 cr since announcement of Karnataka poll dates: EC

Enforcement agencies made seizures totalling more than Rs 170 crore in poll-bound Karnataka since the model code of conduct (MCC) came into force on March 29, the Election Commission said on Sunday. The total confiscations amounting to Rs 170.27 crore include Rs 71 crore in cash, liquor worth Rs 38 crore, precious metals worth Rs 29 crore, freebies worth Rs 19 crore, and drugs worth Rs 13 crore, the office of Karnataka's Chief Electoral Officer said. As many as 1,410 FIRs have been registered with regard to the seizures. It is to be noted that the seized items before the announcement of the May 10 Assembly polls totalled about Rs 58 crore between March 9 to March 27. The state goes to the polls in a single phase on May 10 and the results will be declared on May 13.

Excise policy case: Court fixes Apr 24 for arguments on ED's chargesheet

Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday, fixed April 24 for the point of arguments on the Enforcement Directorate's second supplementary chargesheet (prosecution complaint) in the excise policy case

Kejriwal threatens to sue CBI, ED for perjury, filing of false affidavits

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said he will sue the CBI and ED officials for alleged perjury and filing false affidavits in courts. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned the AAP leader in connection with the case on Sunday. He has been asked to be present at the agency headquarters at 11 am to answer queries of the investigating team, officials said. The central probe agency has already arrested former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the case. Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal accused the central probe agencies of filing false affidavits in courts. "We will file appropriate cases against CBI and ED officials for perjury and producing false evidence in courts," he tweeted. Earlier, the chief minister said the Enforcement Directorate (ED), in its charge sheet, had said that former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia destroyed 14 phones and IMEI numbers of these phones were are also included in the documents. "T

Central agencies lying to courts: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on CBI summons

"Central agencies are lying to courts against us in the liquor policy probe. Arrested people are being tortured, pressure is being created on them to nail us"

Arvind Kejriwal accuses ED of misleading court in excise policy case

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday accused the Enforcement Directorate of ''misleading'' the court with false evidence in the excise policy case. He was talking to reporters after attending the Ambedkar Jayanti celebrations at the Delhi Assembly. The ED is taking false statements by torturing people and pressuring them. Even in the case of Sanjay Singh, it has come to the fore that the accused gave a different statement and the ED has written something else in the charge sheet," Kejriwal said, replying to a question about the ED's charge that his former deputy Manish Sisodia destroyed his mobile phones. The chief minister said that the ED has claimed that Sisodia has broken his phones but many of those phones are in agency's custody. The ED is misleading the court with false evidence, torturing people, taking false statements. There is nothing in this whole matter, the whole matter is fabricated and is based on false evidence. This is not a good thing," he said. Kejriw

Will continue to cooperate fully with Indian authorities: BBC on ED probe

The BBC will cooperate fully with the Indian authorities, the UK-headquartered media organisation said on Thursday in response to reports from India of a new investigation launched by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into alleged foreign exchange violations by the British public broadcaster. A spokesperson for the British taxpayer-funded licence fee-backed media corporation told PTI that the BBC would comply with its obligations for operating in India. The statement came in response to a query about reports that the ED has reportedly called for documents and statements of some company executives under provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). "We will continue to cooperate fully with the Indian authorities to ensure that we comply with all our obligations, a BBC spokesperson said. According to official sources in Delhi, the ED probe is reportedly looking at purported foreign direct investment (FDI) violations by the company in India. It follows the Income-Tax (I-T)

Will file criminal defamation case against ED officials: AAP's Sanjay Singh

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Thursday said he will file a criminal defamation case against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials for "falsely" naming him in their excise policy case chargesheet. Addressing a press conference here, Singh alleged that the ED is "involved in making false cases without any facts or evidence". Responding to the Singh's allegations, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said it seems that the fear of arrest is haunting the AAP MP with each passing day. The AAP leader also invited those who have been victimised by the agency to come forward and inform him. As the Privileges Committee of Parliament has asked me to expose how the ED is fabricating false cases, I will bring your case and information before the Privileges Committee. It's time to hold the ED accountable for their abuse of power and false accusations, he added. Singh accused ED of targeting him after he raised his voice against the agency's actions in the Parliament. He said he had give

Orwellian state being created where freedom of press is clamped down: Cong

The Congress on Thursday slammed the Centre after the Enforcement Directorate registered a case against news broadcaster BBC India, alleging that the government is determined to impose a "dictatorial government" where there is "tyranny of the executive." The ED has registered a FEMA case against BBC India with allegations of foreign exchange violations, official sources said Thursday, two months after the Income-Tax department surveyed its office premises. A deputy managing editor of the news company has deposed before the agency. The ED has called for documents and the recording of statements of some company executives under provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the officials said. The probe is essentially looking at purported foreign direct investment (FDI) violations by the company, they said. Asked about the development at a press conference at AICC headquarters, Congress spokesperson Anshul Avijit said, "We know the atmosphere that is being created by the .