Page 17 - Money Laundering Case

ED arrests ex chairman of Pune cooperative bank in loan fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it has arrested the former chairman of a Pune-based cooperative bank on money laundering charges in a case linked to alleged fraud and misappropriation of funds of the lender worth Rs 429 crore. Amar Sadhuram Mulchandani, the ex-chairman of Seva Vikas Cooperative Bank, was arrested on July 1 and a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court sent him to ED custody till July 7, the federal probe agency said in a statement. "The arrest is made in connection with the ongoing investigation in the Seva Vikas Cooperative Bank fraud case in which the bank suffered a loss of Rs 429 crore in 124 NPA (non performing assets) loan accounts." "This has caused the bank to go bankrupt causing loss to thousands of small depositors," the ED said. This is the fifth arrest by the agency in this case. The ED had earlier arrested a man named Sagar Suryawanshi, who took loans from the cooperative bank, two ED staffers working on contract at its ..

Excise policy: Delhi HC denies bail to Vijay Nair in money laundering case

The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to grant bail to Aam Aadmi Party's communication in-charge Vijay Nair in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, noting that the statements of witnesses showed kickbacks claimed to have been paid by the potential beneficiaries were used in the Goa assembly elections. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma, by separate orders, also dismissed the bail applications of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, businessman Abhishek Boinpally and liquor giant Pernod Ricard's executive Benoy Babu in the case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The court said while personal liberty is a "sacrosanct right and pre-trial detention cannot be taken as a punitive measure", such right has to be balanced with the right of the society at large. The judge, in his 45-page order passed on the bail plea by Nair, observed that the allegations are "extremely serious in nature" and the alleged conspiracy in the present case was .

Excise policy scam: HC rejects Sisodia's bail plea in money laundering case

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the bail plea of AAP leader Manish Sisodia, who was arrested for his alleged role in the money laundering case relating to alleged irregularities in the city government's excise policy. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma refused to grant relief to Sisodia, saying he is not entitled to bail at this stage. Besides Sisodia, the high court also dismissed the bail pleas of businessmen Abhishek Boinpally, Benoy Babu and Vijay Nair, who are co-accused in the money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arising from the alleged scam. Sisodia, the former Delhi deputy chief minister and excise minister, was first arrested by the CBI on February 26 for his alleged role in the scam and has been in custody since then. The high court has already denied him bail in the CBI case on May 30. He was arrested on March 9 in the case lodged by the ED and is currently in judicial custody. The Delhi government implemented the policy on November 17, 2

ED arrests Supertech's Chairman R K Arora in money laundering case

Earlier in April, the ED provisionally attached 25 immovable properties, valued at Rs 40.39 crore, belonging to the Supertech Group of Companies and their Directors in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh

ED arrests 2 M3M directors in fresh money laundering case linked to bribery

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has arrested Basant Bansal and Pankaj Bansal, directors of Gurugram-based realty group M3M, in a money laundering probe linked to an alleged bribery case against a former judge and others. The two were taken into custody by the federal investigation agency on Wednesday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Basant Bansal and Pankaj Bansal were produced before a special PMLA court in Panchkula, which sent them to five-day ED custody, the agency said in a statement. The money laundering case in which the arrests have been made pertains to a Haryana Police Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) FIR filed in April against Sudhir Parmar, a former special judge for ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases who was posted in Panchkula, his nephew and a third M3M group director Roop Kumar Bansal. According to the FIR, the ED said, reliable information was received that Parmar was showing "favouritism" to the accused, namely

ED arrests two promoters of Gurugram-based M3M in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Basant Bansal and Pankaj Bansal, directors of Gurugram-based realty group M3M, in a money laundering matter linked to an anti-corruption bureau case against a Panchkula-based former special court judge, official sources said Thursday. The two directors were taken into custody by the agency on Wednesday under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The money laundering case in which they have been arrested pertains to a Haryana anti-corruption bureau (ACB) FIR filed in April against the former special court judge, his nephew and a third M3M group director Roop Kumar Bansal. The judge, according to the ACB FIR, was alleged to have been showing favouritism in the ED and CBI cases against the M3M group directors and another real estate group called IREO. The judge was later suspended by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. All the people accused in the ACB case have denied wrongdoing. The ED, on June 1, carried out

Who is Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji, arrested by ED on Wednesday?

Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji was arrested in the wee hours on Wednesday in an alleged money-laundering case related to a job-for-cash scam

ED arrests TN Minister Senthil Balaji under anti-money laundering act

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), official sources said. He was arrested after a long session of questioning, they said, even as the minister was admitted to a city government hospital after he complained of uneasiness. He is likely to produced before a special court later where the agency will seek his custody. The agency had launched multi-city searches in the state on Tuesday at the premises linked to the DMK's Karur strongman as part of the probe into money laundering. The action came months after the Supreme Court allowed a police and ED probe into an alleged cash for jobs scam against him. Earlier, he was hospitalised after he complained of uneasiness, DMK leaders said. State Minister P K Sekar Babu claimed there were 'symptoms' that Balaji has been 'tortured.' TV visuals showed Balaji being uneasy while being brought to the Government Medical College,

SC criticises seeking bail under guise of challenging validity of PMLA

The Supreme Court on Tuesday deprecated the trend of the accused in money laundering cases using Article 32 petitions to challenge a summons or seek bail under the guise of calling into question the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). A vacation bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Prashant Kumar Mishra, said filing such petitions challenging an Act, and in the process seeking consequential reliefs, amounts to bypassing other available legal remedies. "The court is constrained to observe that despite the Vijay Madanlal judgment there is a trend prevailing in writ petitions filed before this Court under Article 32 challenging the constitutional validity of Sections 15 and 63 and other provisions of the PMLA, which has been decided finally, and then seek consequential relief. These reliefs are bypassing other forums which are open to the petitioners," the bench said. The apex court had in the Madanlal judgement upheld the Enforcement Directorate's powers relat

Chhattisgarh money laundering case: SC pulls ED, says don't create fear

From pulling up ED in Chhattisgarh money laundering case to questioning the source of power of Delhi-LG while nominating 10 aldermen, here are the important cases of the day

ED searches LYCA Productions in Chennai in money laundering probe: Report

Earlier ED said it had carried out search operations at 21 locations in Delhi and Gurugram in connection with Amira Pure Foods Private Limited, Karan A Chanana and others

IL&FS money laundering case: ED issues fresh summons to NCP's Jayant Patil

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued fresh summons to Maharashtra NCP president and MLA Jayant Patil for questioning in a money laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities in the now bankrupt financial services firm IL&FS, official sources said Monday The 61-year-old MLA from Islampur seat of Maharashtra was issued the first summons for appearance on May 12 but he had sought deferment for about 10 days citing some personal and official engagements. The politician has now been asked to appear on May 22, the sources said. Patil, a former minister of home and finance, is also the state president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and is a seven-term legislator. He had told reporters last week that he never had any association or financial dealing with IL&FS. Alleged payment of some "commission amount" by some accused companies to entities linked to Patil are under the scanner of the agency and it is understood he will be questioned about these ...

Three leading brokers on Sebi, RBI, Enforcement Directorate radar

Three top brokers of the country have come under the scanner of multiple regulatory and enforcement agencies, including for suspected money laundering and fraudulent trading activities amounting to several thousands of crores of rupees, senior officials said on Sunday. The officials also said that the three brokers, whom they refused to identify citing the ongoing nature of the investigations, have also been found to have been connected to PEPs (politically exposed persons) and the role of a key family member of a senior political leader in a key industrial state is also being investigated. The investigations have been underway for 4-5 years on multiple fronts against the three top brokers, who head organisations with businesses spread across multiple segments of the capital markets and the financial services sector including brokerage, investment advisory services, portfolio management, asset management fund and non-banking financial services. The agencies and regulators involved i

Court grants bail to Mirchi's aide in money laundering case, pulls up ED

A special PMLA court here on Friday granted bail to businessman Haroun Yusuf, arrested in 2019 in connection with a money laundering case also involving late gangster and drug smuggler Iqbal Mirchi, holding he had no knowledge regarding the latter's source of money. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), probing the case, has claimed Yusuf had assisted Mirchi in buying properties in India using money earned through illegal activities. However, special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court judge MG Deshpande, while granting the accused bail, held that except bare allegations, there was nothing to show Yusuf had any knowledge regarding Mirchi's source of money. The judge also pulled up the central agency for delaying trial in the case. Based on multiple FIRs registered under provisions of the IPC and the NDPS Act (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act) against Mirchi, the ED had registered its case against him, his family members and others. Mirchi died at the age of

Delhi liquor scam: HC calls for ED's stand on bail plea of YSRC MP's son

The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought to know the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) stand on a plea moved by Raghav Magunta, the son of YSR Congress Party MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, seeking interim bail in a money-laundering case related to an alleged liquor scam in the national capital. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma asked the ED's counsel to take instructions in the matter and listed it for further hearing on May 15. Magunta has sought interim bail on the ground of his wife's medical condition. He has challenged a trial court's May 8 order that dismissed his interim bail plea. The trial court had said it could not be ignored that the accused was being prosecuted for the offence of money laundering, a serious economic offence. It had said it was not satisfied with the history of the ailment of Magunta's wife as nothing special or serious was stated about her condition in the documents placed before it. Other family members of the accused could also take care of his wife, the cour

SC dismisses CJI's plea seeking recusal from hearing same-sex marriage case

From hearing pleas over validation in the same-sex marriage case to dismissing DY Chandrachud's application seeking recusal from hearing same-sex marriage plea, here are some of the important cases

CAs, CSes concerned about new tweaks in anti-money laundering law

A major concern for the professionals is that if their clients are up to some mischief behind their backs, they would also be charged under the PMLA

DHFL money laundering case: HC denies bail to Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor

The Bombay High Court on Thursday refused to grant bail to Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor in connection with the DHFL money laundering case, noting that he was one of main accused in the case and he faced a "serious charge" of having laundered public money. A single bench of Justice P D Naik in its order said Kapoor misused his official position to gain undue financial benefit for himself, his family members and associates. "He (Kapoor) is involved in bribery, corruption and money laundering activities. The proceeds of crime (POC) involved in this case are to the extent of Rs 5,333 crore. It is alleged that applicant had siphoned off huge amounts of POC out of India through his family group owned/controlled companies," the HC said. It added that around Rs 378 crore have been invested overseas and investigation in this is still on. The bench said it cannot ignore Kapoor's role in the crime, the magnitude and seriousness of the crime. "The allegations against the applicant is that the

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