Page 98 - Enforcement Directorate

SC to hear pleas challenging ED chief's tenure extension on Monday

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday as many as eight petitions, including the ones filed by politicians Randeep Singh Surjewala and Mahua Moitra, challenging the extension of tenure of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) director and the amended law allowing such extensions up to five years. According to the list of business uploaded on the apex court website, a bench headed by Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit will hear the petitions, based on which notices were issued to the Centre and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). The top court had issued notices on the PILs filed by Surjewala and Jaya Thakur, both Congress leaders, TMC MP Moitra, Saket Gokhale, Krishan Chander Singh, Vineet Narian and Manohar Lal Sharma on August 2. Earlier, senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Surjewala, had referred to the apex court judgements and said the fixed tenures are the hallmark of independence and the fact that an incumbent may get an extension will demolish the independence of

Chinese loan apps case: ED raids Razorpay, Paytm, Cashfree in Bengaluru

The Enforcement Directorate Saturday said it is conducting raids at Bengaluru premises of online payment gateways like Razorpay, Paytm and Cashfree as part of an ongoing probe against "illegal" instant smartphone-based loans "controlled" by Chinese persons. The searches were launched Friday at six premises in Karnataka's capital city, it said in a statement. The search operation is in progress, the Enforcement Directorate said. The federal probe agency said it has seized Rs 17 crore worth funds kept in "merchant IDs and bank accounts of these Chinese persons-controlled entities", during the raids. The modus operandi of these entities is that they use forged documents of Indians and make them dummy directors leading to generation of "proceeds of crime", it alleged. "These entities are controlled/operated by Chinese persons," it said. "It has come to notice that the said entities were doing their suspected/illegal business through various merchant IDs/accounts held with payment ...

Top headlines: Indian economic growth by 2029, ED raids Paytm, and more

From India becoming third largest economy by 2029 to CBDT issuing refunds of over Rs 1.14 trn, here are the top headlines this evening

Coal scam: Abhishek Banerjee attacks Shah after ED grills him for 7 hours

After a seven-hour long grilling by ED officials, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Friday dared Union Home Minister Amit Shah to prove charges of wrongdoing in an alleged case of coal pilferage and to put him behind bars. The Trinamool Congress MP, considered number 2 in the party, also advised Shah to teach nationalism to his son and make sure that the law and order situation improves in Delhi. "If needed, I am ready to face questioning 30 times, but will not bow my head before the BJP. I have attacked his (Amit Shah's) son over the national flag issue but that does not mean the ED and CBI can be used to threaten me, he told reporters. Video footage of BCCI secretary Jay Shah, son of the Union home minister, appearing to turn down an offer to wave the national flag after India beat Pakistan in an Asia Cup match in Dubai on August 28 has sparked a controversy. Banerjee wondered why the top BJP leader who "teaches patriotism to the entire country has failed to educate his son". The

Chhattisgarh will soon see ED, I-T raids for housing Jharkhand MLAs: Baghel

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday said his state is soon going to witness raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax (I-T) department because MLAs of the ruling coalition in neighbouring Jharkhand are staying in a resort near capital Raipur. Talking to reporters at the helipad here, the Congress leader targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying it does not have faith in democracy. He said MLAs of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), which consists of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, have been housed in a resort on the outskirts of Raipur to protect democracy. The BJP does not have faith in democracy. Jharkhand (ruling coalition) MLAs are staying in Raipur and we have welcomed them. Now, the BJP is protesting against it. My well wishers have informed me that soon the state will see raids by the ED and I-T because we have stationed Jharkhand MLAs here to protect democracy, Baghel said. The CM

Delhi HC permits Vivo's distributor to operate frozen bank account

The Court also directed that the petitioner to furnish statements of accounts of all the bank accounts forming the subject matter of the freezing order every 48 hours to the ED

Many more influential people involved in WBSSC scam: ED tells court

ED has also told the court that when its sleuths raided Partha Chatterjee's residence in July, they seized a number of incriminating documents

Jacqueline cooked up stories, didn't disclose truth: ED chargesheet

The ED in its second chargesheet filed against Jacqueline Fernandez involving conman Sukesh has claimed that the actress neither disclosed the complete truth nor the details of the gifts she received

ED seeks information on teachers' appointment in Bengal school jobs scam

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday sought information from the West Bengal Board of Primary Education about the appointment of primary teachers since 2011 in connection with its ongoing probe into a school jobs scam, an official said. The ED wrote to the chairman of the board for soft copies of the appointments-related details by Thursday, he said. A source in the education body said officials concerned in primary schools in all the districts have been asked to furnish the information on time. The ED had earlier arrested suspended Trinamool Congress leader and former state minister Partha Chatterjee, and his close associate Arpita Mukherjee for their alleged involvement in the multi-crore scam.

ED summons TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee in coal smuggling scam

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday issued a summons to Trinamool Congress' national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee for questioning in connection with its probe into the coal pilferage scam', an official said. The central agency asked Banerjee, the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, to appear at its Kolkata office on Friday morning, he said. "We have summoned Abhishek Banerjee to appear before our sleuths here. Our officers from New Delhi will come to interrogate him," the senior ED officer told PTI. While attacking the BJP during a programme, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee had on Monday apprehended that the central agencies might send notices to her nephew, considered the second in command in the party, and other senior leaders.

Masala bonds: ED tightens noose around ex-Kerala FM Thomas Isaac

Considered a brainchild of the then finance minister, masala bonds have backfired against the Pinarayi Vijayan government

ED inquiry on CoinSwitch not linked to money laundering under PMLA: CEO

"Enforcement Directorate-Bengaluru has been engaged with us with respect to functioning of our crypto platforms/exchanges. We are fully cooperating with them," he said in a tweet thread.

Farooq Abdullah skips court hearing in JKCA scam case due to health issues

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah did not appear before the court in a money laundering case related to the alleged financial irregularities in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) here on Saturday due to health issues. As the case, before the court of Principal District and Sessions Judge, Srinagar, was called, Abdullah's lawyer Ishtiyaq Ahmad Khan said the NC chief is not able to attend the court due to health issues. The judge told Khan that Abdullah should be present in the court on the next date of hearing, which is listed on September 26. The lawyer assured it that the former J-K chief minister will attend that hearing. The court had on July 23 issued summons to Abdullah on a complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him and others in the JKCA money laundering case. Abdullah, the Member of Parliament from Srinagar, has been questioned multiple times by the agency in this case. He was the JKCA president from 2001 to 2012 and the scam

Oppn parties up the ante as TMC warns leaders against aggressive remarks

As the CBI and ED stretch their nets to haul in people involved in the school teacher appointment scam and cattle-smuggling racket, the ruling Trinamool Congress is attempting to play it safe

Agencies have become pocket organisation of BJP, says Telangana Minister

Telangana Health and Finance minister Harish Rao took a potshot at the BJP-led Centre saying that the investigation agencies have become a pocket organisation of the party

Attempt to topple AAP govt shows how dangerous 'Operation Lotus' is: Sena

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on Friday accused the BJP of trying to topple the AAP government in Delhi by using the Enforcement Directorate, and said it shows how dangerous 'Operation Lotus' is for the democracy in the country. The editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana said the BJP was worried about 2024 Lok Sabha elections and scared of rival leaders like Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee and Nitish Kumar. Delhi chief minister Kejriwal on Thursday accused the BJP of trying to topple his government by offering Rs 800 crore to 40 MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party for switching sides. The BJP denied the allegation. This shows how dangerous Operation Lotus is for democracy, Saamana editorial said, adding that raids by investigation agencies and politics of revenge were the biggest weapons of the BJP. The BJP's opponents often use the term 'Operation Lotus' while accusing it of making efforts to topple the state governments run by opposition parties.

Supreme Court set to review PMLA verdict, reconsider two provisions

The court said it would re-examine two provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)

ED now raids CoinSwitch Kuber, firm says engaging with all stakeholders

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday searched the premises of leading crypto exchange CoinSwitch Kuber for alleged Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violations

What is PMLA Act? Money laundering, law statement and objectives

What is the Prevention of Money Laundering act and how does it affect a nation? Read this article to understand money laundering, the PMLA act, objectives of the PMLA act, FATF and everything

SC to review two key points in PMLA verdict, issues notice to Centre

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to examine a plea seeking a review of the PMLA verdict which upheld the Enforcement Directorate's powers, including those relating to arrest, and sought response from the Centre on the issue. A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana said prima facie two issues, including not providing Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), requires reconsideration. The top court on Wednesday had allowed an application of Congress MP Karti Chidambaram seeking an open court hearing of his petition to review the top court's last month's verdict upholding the sweeping powers of the ED relating to arrest, investigation, and attachment of property under the PMLA Act. In its July 27 verdict, the apex court has said that the direction under Section 8(4) for taking possession of the property in question before a formal order of confiscation is passed should be an exception and not a rule. Section 8(4) allows the ED to take possession of the attached property at th