Money Laundering

ED attaches ₹4,190 cr in crypto cases, declares one as fugitive offender

The Enforcement Directorate has attached proceeds of crime worth Rs 4,189.89 crore in crypto-related cases under the anti-money laundering law and declared one accused as a Fugitive Economic Offender, Parliament was informed on Monday. Besides, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has also detected undisclosed income of Rs 888.82 crore from virtual digital assets (VDA) transactions during search and seizure operations. The CBDT has sent 44,057 communications to taxpayers who invested or traded in VDAs but did not report these in Schedule VDA of their Income Tax Returns (ITRs), Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. The government has also brought VDAs under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA). "The Enforcement Directorate has investigated several crypto-related cases under PMLA, attaching/seizing/freezing proceeds of crime worth Rs 4,189.89 crore, arresting 29 persons, and filing 22 prosecution complaints. On

ED undertakes 1st-ever raids in Meghalaya as part of money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted searches at multiple locations in Meghalaya as part of a money laundering probe into alleged misappropriation of funds at the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), officials said. These are the maiden raids undertaken by the federal probe agency's sub zonal office located in Shillong after registering a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the state. The agency has conducted similar action in the state as part of cases registered in other states. At least five premises in Tura under the West Garo Hills district were raided, the officials said. The probe relates to the alleged non-execution of developmental works and the misappropriation of funds allocated for the development of the Asanang constituency under the GHADC. According to officials, out of a total allocation of Rs 28.66 crore, members of the committee, in collusion with certain contractors, "diverted" and "misused" the funds in contraventi

Court sends Al Falah university founder Siddiqui to 14-day judicial custody

A Delhi court on Monday sent Al Falah University founder Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui to 14-day judicial custody in a terror-linked money laundering case. Siddiqui had been sent to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody for 13 days on November 19. On Monday, he was produced before Additional Sessions Judge Sheetal Chaudhary Pradhan, who sent him to judicial custody till December 15. During the hearing, the ED counsel briefly argued that it was premature to produce him before the court since the 13-day custody would end at 1 am on Tuesday, technically making Monday the 12th day of his custody. Meanwhile, an application was moved by Siddiqui's counsel seeking access to prescribed medication and spectacles during the custody period. The judge allowed the request. ED officials handed over Siddiqui's medical prescription to the court, which directed jail authorities to ensure that he continued to receive the prescribed treatment. The agency had earlier alleged that Al Falah University false

ED arrests WinZO founders over alleged money laundering; ₹505 crore frozen

ED claims gaming firm withheld players' funds after real-money gaming ban; company denies wrongdoing, says it operates with fairness and compliance

Delhi HC allows ED to attach illegal betting money in ₹2,400 crore scam

The court issued the order while dismissing petitions challenging the ED's provisional attachment orders issued more than a decade ago in an alleged multi-crore international cricket betting scam

SC agrees to $570 mn settlement by fugitive billionaire Sandesara brothers

After being accused of defaulting on domestic bank loans, the brothers, whose companies spanned industries from pharmacueticals to energy, fled India in 2017 on Albanian passports

ED raids premises linked to WinZO, Gamezkraft in money laundering probe

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday raided premises linked to online gaming platforms WinZO and Gamezkraft as part of a money laundering investigation, official sources said. A total of 11 premises were covered in the raids, including five located in Bengaluru, four in Delhi and two in Gurugram (Haryana), they said. The search action is being conducted by the Bengaluru zonal office against the two online gaming companies which own websites named WinZO app and Gamezkraft (pocket52.com), ED sources said. The two platforms could not be immediately contacted for a comment on the ED action against them. The corporate offices of the two gaming operators along with residences of their CEOs, COOs and CFOs are being covered in the action. It is alleged in the police FIRs filed by the victims that these gaming companies"manipulated" the algorithm of the app putting the gamers at disadvantage, the sources alleged. The federal probe agency suspects that the promoters "owned" crypto wallet

ED arrests Jaypee Infratech MD Manoj Gaur in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Manoj Gaur, MD of realty company Jaypee Infratech Ltd, in a money laundering case probe linked to alleged fraud with home buyers, official sources said on Thursday. The businessman was taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. The investigation against him pertains to a case of alleged cheating of home buyers, the officials said.

ED makes 3rd arrest in Reliance Power fake bank guarantee linked PMLA case

The Enforcement Directorate has made a fresh and the third arrest in connection with a money laundering probe against businessman Anil Ambani's group company Reliance Power linked to issuance of an alleged fake bank guarantee of Rs 68 crore, official sources said on Friday. A person identified as Amar Nath Dutta was taken into custody on Thursday under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). A special court sent him to four days of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody, they said. The federal probe agency has arrested former Reliance Power CFO Ashok Kumar Pal and a private person Partha Sarathi Biswal, MD of an Odisha-based company named Biswal Tradelink, as part of this investigation. The case pertains to a bank guarantee of Rs 68.2 crore submitted to the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) on behalf of Reliance NU BESS Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Power, a listed company, which was found to be "fake". The company was formerly known a

ED attaches ₹11 cr assets of Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan in betting case

The ED has alleged that both players "knowingly" entered endorsement agreements with foreign entities to promote an illegal betting platform, 1xBet, and its associated platforms

FATF hails India's asset recovery model, cites ED as global benchmark

FATF highlights India's Enforcement Directorate for its effective coordination, citing ED's cases as examples of global best practice in tracing and seizing illicit assets

ED seizes ₹7,500 cr assets linked to Anil Ambani in money laundering probe

The ED has attached assets worth ₹3,084 crore linked to Anil Ambani, including his Mumbai home, a Delhi plot and other residential and commercial properties across major cities under the PMLA

Belgian Court finds offences extraditable, dismisses Choksi's bias claims

The judgment clarified that the alleged acts occurred in India between December 31, 2016, and January 1, 2019, and that prosecution is not time-barred under either Indian or Belgian law

ED chargesheets Elvish Yadav in wildlife-linked money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet against YouTuber Siddharth Yadav alias Elvish Yadav, his friend and singer Rahul Yadav alias Fazilpuriya apart from two others, and charged them with money laundering in an alleged wildlife crime involving protected snakes and lizards, official sources said. The prosecution complaint was filed on October 13 before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Gurugram, Haryana. The court is yet to take cognisance of the chargesheet. Yadav (28), Fazilpuriya (35), a company named Sky Digital India Pvt. Ltd. and its director Gurkaran Singh Dhaliwal have been named as the accused in the chargesheet, the sources told PTI. Yadav has been accused of generating, acquiring, and possessing proceeds of crime worth Rs 84,000 from the monetisation of an "offending" video uploaded in 2023 that depicted live snakes and an iguana (a protected species of lizard). Fazilpuriya has been charged for the same offence as it was found dur

Shilpa Shetty questioned in cheating case, denies role in firm's affairs

Actor Shilpa Shetty has told the Mumbai police that she did not look into the affairs of the company she co-founded with her husband Raj Kundra, during her questioning in connection with the Rs 60 crore cheating case, an official said on Tuesday. A team from the police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) recorded the actor's statement at her residence on October 4 and questioned her for more than four hours, the official said. The actor, in her statement, told the police that she was not looking into the affairs of the liquidated company, Best Deal TV Private Limited. Shetty and her husband, Raj Kundra, were directors of Best Deal TV Private Limited, a home shopping and online retail platform. The official said the actor answered questions while recording her statement and submitted supporting documents. Police are verifying the documents provided by the actor, he said. "Shetty said that she was not looking into the affairs of the company. She was paid celebrity fees for appearing on

Actor Sonu Sood appears before ED in betting app linked PMLA case

Actor Sonu Sood on Wednesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in a money-laundering case linked to an online betting app named 1xBet, officials said. Sood (52) reached the agency's office in central Delhi around 12 noon. The investigating officer of the case will question the actor and record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the officials said. The federal probe agency has questioned former cricketers Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan, Robin Uthappa and Yuvraj Singh apart from former TMC MP and actor Mimi Chakraborty and Bengali actor Ankush Hazra over the last few weeks as part of this investigation. Some female social media influencers have also been questioned by the agency as part of this investigation. The probe into the operations of the 1xBet betting app is part of the ED's wider probe against such platforms on allegations of duping numerous people of crores of rupees and reportedly evading a huge amount of direct

ED attaches Dubai assets, India deposits worth ₹307 cr in betting case

Land, villas and flats in Dubai and bank deposits in India worth Rs 307 crore have been attached under the anti-money laundering law in an online betting and broadcasting case linked to a platform named Fairplay, the ED said on Monday. The money laundering case stems from an FIR filed by the Cyber wing of the Mumbai Police. The complaint was registered on the basis of a communication sent by Viacom18 Media against Fairplay and others, alleging revenue loss of more than Rs 100 crore to the former company due to violation of the Information Technology (IT) and Copyright Act. Subsequently, many other FIRs against various entities, including Fairplay and its associates, for "illegal" online betting were tagged together for investigation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said in a statement. A provisional order was issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on September 19 to attach land, villas and flats located in Dubai and bank deposits kept in India. These properties

Jacqueline Fernandez moves SC, challenges HC dismissal in ₹200-cr case

Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez moves the Supreme Court after Delhi HC rejected her plea to quash ₹200-crore money laundering case, seeking a stay of trial against her

ED raids Sasikala, others in ₹200 cr bank fraud, benami assets probe

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted searches in Chennai and Hyderabad as part of a money laundering probe into an alleged Rs 200 crore bank fraud and benami assets probe against Sasikala, a close aide of late Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa, and some others, officials said. At least ten premises in the two cities linked to a person named GRK Reddy, related to the Marg group and an alleged benami of Sasikala, are being raided under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA, they said. The probe is related to a Rs 200 crore alleged bank fraud in which the CBI had filed an FIR, they said.

ED raids 13 premises of B C Jindal Group over FEMA violation charges

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches against the B C Jindal Group of companies on charges of violation of the foreign exchange law, official sources said. They said at least 13 premises of the directors and officials of the group located in Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad are being searched under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The ED is investigating suspected FEMA violations by the group entities of the company such as Jindal India Thermal Power Ltd. and Jindal India Powertech Ltd. for its overseas investments and parking of funds in their overseas entities, the sources said. The company could not be contacted immediately for comment on the ED action. The business conglomerate has recorded an annual turnover of over Rs 18,000 crore and is a major player in the power sector.