Page 3 - Money Laundering Case

ED attaches Rs 95 cr worth assets of Gurugram realty firm SBPL in PMLA case

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday said it has attached assets worth about Rs 95 crore as part of a money laundering investigation against a Gurugram-based real estate company and its promoter on charges of duping more than 950 homebuyers. The action has been taken against Sidharth Chauhan, promoter of Sidhartha Buildhome Pvt. Ltd. (SBPL), his companies and some other persons, the federal probe agency said in a statement. A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for attaching land parcels, residential house and commercial building in Gurugram (Haryana), it said. These properties are worth Rs 94.82 crore, acccording to the agency. The company or its promoter could not be contacted for their response on the allegations made by the ED against them. The money laundering case stems from a clutch of FIRs filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police. The EOW complaints were registered on the basis of complaints of various ..

Tahir Hussain gets bail in money laundering case after 4 years of custody

He will remain in custody in a larger conspiracy of the Delhi riots case. He is also accused of a larger conspiracy in the Delhi Riots case

Vanuatu cancels Lalit Modi's passport for 'attempt to avoid extradition'

This comes days after Lalit Modi, founder of the Indian Premier League (IPL), applied to surrender his Indian passport at the Indian High Commission in London

ED attaches Rs 65 cr assets linked to ex-GM of Sikkim Bank in fraud case

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 65.46 crore in connection with a money laundering case involving a former general manager-ranked officer of a Sikkim-based bank. The ED said in a statement that the attached assets include four residential properties and land parcels located in Deorali, Syari, Ranipool and Penlong - all in Sikkim. These properties were allegedly acquired using proceeds from fraudulent activities linked to siphoning of funds from the State Bank of Sikkim (SBS) by Dorjee Tshering Lepcha, its former general manager (operations). Additionally, several bank accounts with a combined deposit of approximately Rs 53.41 crore in the names of Lepcha and his family members have also been frozen, the statement said. These actions are parts of an ongoing investigation into the misappropriation and laundering of funds from the bank under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Established in 1968

Cooperating with ED into alleged money laundering case, says Bhutani Group

Real estate firm Bhutani Infra on Saturday said it is co-operating with Enforcement Directorate (ED) in its investigation into alleged money laundering and fraud with property buyers. On Thursday, the ED searched multiple premises of two real estate companies and their promoters in Delhi-NCR as part of a money laundering investigation linked to alleged fraud with homebuyers, officials had said. The action is being taken against WTC Builder, its promoter Ashish Bhalla and the Bhutani Group, among others, they said. In a statement on Saturday, Bhutani Infra said it has severed all ties with the WTC Group earlier this month and "is now fully cooperating with the ED in its investigation." The company said that "it has no financial or operational connections to WTC, and any suggestion to the contrary is entirely false and misleading." Bhutani Group said "it is not involved in any of the current financial troubles surrounding WTC. On Thursday, the Gurugram office of the ED raided about

Delhi court grants bail to man accused in Rs 329 cr money laundering case

A Delhi court has granted bail to a man arrested in a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal transfer of funds worth Rs 329 crore outside India using "forged" import bills. Additional Sessions Judge Aparna Swami granted relief to Jatin Chopra, who was taken into custody on September 15, 2024, saying that "owing to further investigation which is pending, the trial of the applicant cannot commence". "If the applicant is left to languish in custody for the said further investigation to be completed, it would frustrate the objective of law which guarantees to the accused the right not to be detained beyond 90 days on account of pendency of investigation," the judge said in an order passed on February 20. Advocate Dhruv Gupta appeared for the applicant. The Enforcement Directorate had arrested Chopra, claiming that he "failed" to join the probe despite being summoned several times. The money laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police. The

President Murmu approves ED's request to prosecute AAP's Satyendar Jain

Delhi Excise policy case: The approval comes after the Ministry of Home Affairs sought the President's sanction for initiating legal action against Jain last week

Former Mauritian PM Jugnauth arrested in money laundering investigation

Jugnauth denies the allegation, lawyer Raouf Gulbul said in an interview posted on defimedia.info's Facebook page

Wadhwan brothers secure bail in 2020 YES Bank money laundering case

The Bombay High Court granted bail to DHFL promoters Dheeraj and Kapil Wadhwan in connection with the 2020 Yes Bank money laundering case, citing their long incarceration and the unlikelihood of the trial starting soon. A single bench of Justice Milind Jadhav on Wednesday granted bail to the brothers on a bond of Rs 1 lakh each. The bench said the Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) promoters have been in custody for four years and nine months and there was no possibility of the trial commencing in the near future. Detaining an undertrial prisoner for such an extended period further violates his fundamental right to speedy trial flowing from Article 21 of the Constitution, HC said. In my opinion, further incarceration of the applicants (Wadhwans) is not required and they are entitled to bail without entering into the merits of the case at this stage, the court said. Considering the present status of the trial and the unlikelihood of it being concluded in the foreseeable future ..

ED freezes 30 bank accounts in money laundering case linking QFX Trade Ltd

ED initiated investigation on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by Himachal Police against QFX company

ED files fresh chargesheet in NSEL money laundering probe, 19 firms named

The Enforcement Directorate Wednesday said it has filed a fresh chargesheet in the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL)-linked money laundering investigation. The prosecution complaint was filed on January 28 before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai against 19 broking entities and their directors for allegedly colluding with NSEL officials to "allure" investors to trade on this platform, the federal agency said in a statement. The court took cognisance of the chargesheet on February 3, it said. The agency earlier filed six chargesheets against 94 accused and attached assets worth Rs 3,288 crore as part of this probe. The probe found that broking companies, after getting registered with the NSEL, "misled" their clients by providing "false" assurances about the exchange and promoting "illegal" pairs trade contracts that were not allowed, the ED said. In "collusion with" broking companies, NSEL established a system that "bypassed" the collection of

'Must follow law, not harass citizens': Bombay HC fines ED Rs 1 lakh

The Bombay High Court has fined the Enforcement Directorate Rs 1 lakh for baseless money-laundering probe against a realtor. It has also penalised the complainant for malafide intent

Money laundering case: SC junks ED plea against bail to NCP leader Bhujbal

In a relief to senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the plea of the Enforcement Directorate challenging the bail granted to him in a money laundering case. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan however rejected Bhujbal's plea challenging his arrest in the matter saying the petitioner was released on bail in 2018, and it was not necessary to go into the question of illegality of his arrest at the present stage. "Impugned orders granting bail have been passed way back in the year 2018. Therefore no case for interference is made out at this stage under Article 136 of the Constitution. The SLPs are dismissed," it held. The Bombay High Court on May 4, 2018, granted bail to Bhujbal in the money laundering case. The former Maharashtra deputy chief minister was arrested after an ED inquiry revealed he and his associates had allegedly misused their office and caused financial loss to the government. According to the ED, Bhujbal awarded contra

SC criticises ED over bail conditions for women in money laundering cases

The Supreme Court has strongly criticised the Enforcement Directorate for submitting that rigorous bail conditions in money laundering cases will apply to women despite a statutory exception explicitly provided under the law. A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih, while hearing the bail plea of Shashi Bala, a government school teacher accused in a money laundering scam involving the Shine City Group of Companies, called the ED's submissions "contrary to statute" and emphasised that such arguments would not be tolerated. "We will not tolerate conduct... to make submissions contrary to statute," the bench said and granted bail to Bala in the case, saying she had been in custody since November 2023 and there was little likelihood of her trial concluding anytime soon. "If people who appear for the Union of India do not know basic provisions of law, why should they appear in the matter," the bench said on Wednesday. The ED argued that the stringent bail ...

Kejriwal's arrest, excise policy cases dominated Delhi courts in 2024

Arvind Kejriwal's arrest, excise policy hearings, hogged limelight in Delhi courts in 2024

ED summons BRS leader KT Rama Rao in money laundering case on Jan 7

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader KT Rama Rao and some others for questioning next month in a money laundering case linked to alleged payment irregularities during a Formula-E race held in Hyderabad in February 2023, official sources said on Saturday. The federal agency filed an enforcement case information report (ECIR) or FIR last week in the case under various sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), taking cognisance of a Telangana Police Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) complaint. Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and son of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, Rama Rao has been asked to depose for recording of his statement on January 7, the sources said. Senior IAS officer Arvind Kumar and retired bureaucrat and former Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) chief engineer BLN Reddy have been summoned on January 2 and January 3, respectively, they added. The probe against 48-year-old Ram

Why SC barred ED probe of 'lottery king' Santiago Martin's laptop, device

The Enforcement Directorate is investigating money laundering charges against Santiago Martin, who made headlines for being the largest political donor through electoral bonds between 2014-19

Delhi LG gives nod to ED to prosecute Arvind Kejriwal in excise policy case

On December 5, the Enforcement Directorate sought permission for sanction of prosecution against Arvind Kejriwal

ED cannot direct prosecutors on court conduct in money laundering cases: SC

The Supreme Court has said the Enforcement Directorate and its director may provide instructions related to the facts of a money laundering case but they cannot direct their prosecutors on how to conduct themselves in court. The top court ruling underscored the independence of public prosecutors as officers of the court and limits the influence of investigative agencies in judicial proceedings. The observations were made in an order by a bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Augustine George Masih on Wednesday while granting bail to Zeeshan Haider and Daud Nasir, who were arrested in connection with the Delhi Waqf Board money laundering case. The bench took note of their prolonged incarceration and believed that the trial would not begin in the near future. The bench clarified the limits of the ED's authority over public prosecutors while addressing a trial court's directive that the director of the anti-money laundering probe agency issue instructions to prosecutors not to oppose bail .

Businessman Sanjay Bhandari's extradition appeal opens in UK High Court

Sanjay Bhandari, a consultant in the defence sector wanted in India on alleged tax evasion and money laundering charges, began an appeal in the High Court in London on Tuesday against his extradition order. The 62-year-old businessman had won permission to appeal against a November 2022 Westminster Magistrates' Court ruling clearing his extradition earlier this year. His lawyers began making their arguments in the case, which is listed for a three-day hearing this week with the judgment expected in the new year. Lord Justice Timothy Holroyde and Justice Karen Steyn began hearing representations from barristers James Stansfeld and Edward Fitzgerald at the Royal Courts of Justice on three main grounds of appeal whether the bar for criminality had been met in the English jurisdiction, whether a prima facie case had been made and whether the accused faces a risk of violence in an Indian prison. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), appearing on behalf of the Indian authorities, will ..