Page 10 - Money Laundering

ED arrests expelled DMK functionary in drugs-linked money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested sacked DMK functionary Jaffer Sadiq at the Tihar Jail in connection with a drugs linked money laundering investigation, official sources said Friday. The federal agency will soon take the 36-year-old to Chennai and produce him before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) seeking his remand for custodial interrogation, the sources said. Sadiq was arrested by the ED on June 26 at the Tihar Jail where he is lodged in judicial custody in a NCB case. A production warrant is being sought from a Delhi court following which he is expected to be taken to Chennai where the ED case is lodged, they said. The ED had earlier obtained the court's permission to question him in jail and he was taken into custody during this procedure. He was first arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in March for his alleged involvement in the smuggling of about 3,500 kg of pseudoephedrine with a street value of more than Rs 2,000 crore. The money ..

Determined to respond to financial crime risks: Singapore PM Wong

Singapore published a national asset recovery strategy report as part of its efforts to enhance its anti-money laundering

Money laundering: TN minister Senthil Balaji's remand extended till July 1

A sessions court on Tuesday extended the remand of former Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji, arrested by the ED in a money laundering case, till July 1. Principal Sessions Judge S Alli, before whom Senthil Balaji was produced by the prosecution through video-conferencing from the Central Puzhal Prison here, also extended his judicial custody till July 1. When the case came up for hearing on Tuesday, the ED filed its counter affidavits to the three petitions filed by Senthil Balaji. The judge posted to July 1, further hearing of these petitions. In one petition, Senthil Balaji sought to defer the present proceedings and adjourn the case to a later date. In two others, he sought to furnish the missing documents in "Relied Upon Document Nos-16 and 17"--copies of counterfoil challans relating to his account, which were collected by the ED in its investigation, to him. Balaji was arrested on June 14, 2023 by the ED in connection with the money laundering case linked to a cash-for-jo

HC refuses interim bail to businessman Arun Pillai in Delhi Excise scam

The Delhi High Court has refused to grant interim bail to Hyderabad businessman Arun Ramchandran Pillai, who is lodged in judicial custody in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi Excise scam, noting that he is receiving adequate medical treatment in jail. Pillai, who sought to be released on interim bail on medical grounds, submitted that his family has taken opinion from ayurvedic doctors who have opined that he needs to be admitted at an ayurvedic centre to undergo 21 days panchkarma therapy with further rest of 21 days. The high court said, Without commenting on the efficacy of Panchkarma treatment with regard to the back pain, suffice to say that the applicant needs to follow the treatment advice of the doctor and even thereafter if he does not get relief and then if so advised, he would be at liberty to file an application to explore the alternative remedies of ayurveda/ panchkarma treatment etc. A vacation bench of Justice Ravinder Dudeja noted that none of the

Excise policy case: HC halts trial court bail to Kejriwal; order next week

The Delhi High Court on Friday granted interim stay on the trial court's order giving bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam. The high court also issued notice to Kejriwal seeking his response on ED's plea challenging the trial court's June 20 order by which he was granted bail. "Till the pronouncement of this order, the operation of the impugned order shall remain stayed," a vacation bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain said. The court said it was reserving the order for 2-3 days as it wanted to go through the entire records. Earlier in the day, the division bench said the trial court order shall not be given effect to till the high court hears the matter.

Financial watchdog imposes Rs 18.82 cr penalty on crypto exchange Binance

World's largest cryptocurrency exchange violated India's anti-money laundering regulations, says Financial Intelligence Unit

Money laundering probe: ED makes fresh arrest in Jal Jeevan Mission case

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has made a fresh arrest in connection with its money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme being implemented in Rajasthan. Padamchand Jain, proprietor of Shree Shyam Tubewell Company, was taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Jaipur on Thursday. He was produced before a special court in Jaipur on Friday and was sent to the ED custody until June 18, the federal agency said in a statement. The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) launched by the Union government aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water through household tap connections and it is being implemented in Rajasthan by the state's Public Health Engineering (PHE) department. A man named Piyush Jain was the first to be arrested in this case by the federal agency in February. "Padamchand Jain was involved in securing tenders pertaining to JJM works based on purported fake and fabricat

Excise scam: Delhi HC seeks ED stand on Chanpreet Singh's bail plea

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought the stand of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the bail plea by AAP volunteer Chanpreet Singh Rayat in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. A vacation bench of Justice Amit Sharma issued a notice to the ED on Rayat's plea seeking regular bail and asked the agency to file a status report. The matter would be heard next on July 2. The ED had arrested Rayat, who allegedly managed cash payments for the AAP's 2022 Goa election campaign, on April 12. It has alleged that the 'South Group' comprising BRS leader K Kavitha, TDP's Ongole MP Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy and his son Raghav Magunta, businessman Sarath Chandra Reddy and others paid Rs 100 crore bribe to the AAP for obtaining a prime position in the Delhi liquor market as part of the now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22. Out of these alleged kickbacks, the ED has claimed, Rs 45 crore was used by the AAP to fund its Goa election campaign. The excise polic

Delhi excise policy case: Kejriwal's bail plea to be heard on June 19

A Delhi court on Friday fixed for June 19 the bail plea of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam. Additional Sessions Judge Mukesh Kumar adjourned the matter after the ED sought time to file reply in the matter. The judge, meanwhile, fixed for Saturday an application filed by Kejriwal seeking directions to allow his wife to join through video conference the proceedings of the medical board constituted to determine Kejriwal's health condition and treatment. The judge directed the jail authorities concerned to file a reply in matter. "Application has been moved by the accused seeking directions to allow his wife to join medical board. Before passing any order I deem it appropriate to call for reply from jail superintendent concerned. The application be kept for tomorrow," the judge said. During the proceedings, the ED requested the court to adjourned the matter till June 25. The judge, however, said he would consider the accuse

Money laundering case: SC adjourns AAP MLA's arrest plea hearing to June 18

The Supreme Court on Monday deferred to June 18 the hearing on Punjab AAP MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjan Majra's plea challenging his arrest and remand by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering probe linked to a bank fraud case. A vacation bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Augustine George Masih adjourned the matter after noting that the AAP MLA had not filed a rejoinder in the case. At the outset, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for ED, submitted that the matter is about Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and sufficiency of grounds. He said the issues raised in this case are similar to that of the Arvind Kejriwal matter where judgment is already reserved. Senior advocate Vikram Chaudhary, appearing for the Punjab AAP MLA, contended that the issues are not similar and the reason for being remanded is primarily non-appearance. The apex court then sought to know whether pleadings in the matter were complete. On being informed that a ..

Court grants bail to Supertech chairman RK Arora in money laundering case

A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to Supertech chairman and promoter R K Arora in a money laundering case. Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala granted relief to Arora, noting that there was no likelihood of him evading the trial or influencing the investigation. Arora was arrested in June last year. As many as 26 FIRs were registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Delhi Police, Haryana Police and Uttar Pradesh Police against Supertech Limited and its group companies, and Arora, for criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal breach for allegedly cheating at least 670 home buyers for an amount of Rs 164 crore. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a cased a case based on the FIRs to probe alleged money laundering by the accused, according to which the amount collected by Supertech Ltd was diverted to their group companies for the purchase of properties and the company with land having much lesser value. The ED alleged that the accused persons have acquired .

Restrictions on cash transaction: Know details before making any payment

The government's intention is to curb black money, promote digital transactions, and ensure tax compliance

Nirav Modi, Mallya fled India due to agencies' delay in arrest, says court

Businessmen involved in multi-million dollar scams, such as Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya, were able to flee the country because probe agencies failed to arrest them at the proper time, a special court here said recently. Special judge M G Deshpande made the remark while hearing a plea of an accused booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) seeking modification in his bail condition. The court on May 29 accepted the plea of Vyomesh Shah, an accused in a money laundering case, to drop the bail condition of getting the court's prior permission to travel abroad. The detailed order was made available recently. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had argued that allowing Shah's application would give rise to situations like Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and Mehul Choksi. Rejecting the probe agency's contention, the judge said, "I thoughtfully examined this argument and felt it necessary to note that all these persons fled because of the failure of the investigating

Money laundering case: IAS Manish Ranjan appears before ED for questioning

Senior IAS officer Manish Ranjan on Tuesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in a money laundering case in which the agency recently arrested Jharkhand Rural Development minister Alamgir Alam, official sources said. Ranjan arrived at the ED office here around 11.15 am, they said. Ranjan is a former secretary of the Rural Development department. He is currently the secretary of the Land, Road and Building department and had been asked to depose before the federal agency at its zonal office here on May 28. The IAS officer had earlier been summoned to appear before the ED officials on May 24 but he skipped the summons and had sought more time. The summons is linked to the ED investigation in which Congress leader and state Rural Development minister Alamgir Alam, his former personal secretary Sanjeev Kumar Lal and the latter's domestic help Jahangir Alam were arrested early this month. The agency had claimed to have recovered more than Rs 32 crore from

Jharkhand HC seeks ED's response in bail plea filed by Ex-CM Hemant Soren

The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a reply on the bail application moved by former chief minister Hemant Soren. Soren, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 in connection with a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam, filed the petition before the high court on Monday and requested an early hearing of the matter. Appearing on behalf of Soren before a bench of Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay, senior advocate Kapil Sibal pleaded that the JMM leader was a victim of political conspiracy. The court directed the ED to file a response in the matter and set June 10 as the next date of the hearing. In his petition, Soren pleaded before the court that his name does not figure in any of the documents about 8.5 acres of land in the Bargain circle and no offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act is made out against him. He also claimed that the ED was relying only on statements of some people who ha

Court extends ED remand of Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam for 3 more days

A special PMLA court in Ranchi on Monday extended Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam's remand with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for three more days in connection with an alleged money laundering case, his legal representatives said. Alam had been taken into custody by the ED on May 15 following two days of interrogation at the agency's office. Initially remanded for six days by the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court starting May 17, his remand was subsequently extended for five days on May 22. Alam's lawyer, Kishlay Prasad, said that the ED prayed for a three-day extension of remand for further inquiry, which was granted by the court. "The ED indicated the necessity for additional inquiries and the requirement for details regarding immovable properties," Prasad elaborated. Alam, who serves as the state parliamentary affairs minister and represents the Pakur seat in the Jharkhand Assembly, is under investigation for alleged irregularities and bribery in the state rural

ED raids ex-DPIIT Secy Ramesh Abhishek's premises in money laundering probe

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday raided the premises of retired IAS officer and former Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) secretary Ramesh Abhishek as part of a disproportionate assets linked money laundering probe against him, official sources said. The ED case stems from a recent CBI FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the 1982-batch officer. He was raided by the CBI in February. Abhishek retired in 2019 from the DPIIT (erstwhile Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion). The ED is searching the premises of Abhishek as part of a money laundering investigation, the sources said. The CBI had alleged in its FIR that Abhishek enriched himself "illicitly" after retirement by receiving "huge amounts" as consultation fee from private companies whose matters he had dealt while in service. The CBI and ED have also booked his daughter Vanessa. The retired officer also held the post of chairman, Forward Markets ...

No interim relief for Hemant Soren; JMM chief cites Kejriwal's bail to SC

The Supreme Court scheduled former chief minister Hemant Soren's hearing for May 17, challenging his arrest in money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam

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Money laundering case: ED summons J'khand minister Alam for questioning

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Jharkhand Rural Development Minister and Congress leader Alamgir Alam for questioning in a money laundering case on May 14, official sources said Sunday. The federal agency had last week arrested Alam's personal secretary Sanjiv Lal and the latter's domestic help following the seizure of more than Rs 32 crore cash from a flat linked to them. Alam, 70, has been asked to depose at the zonal office of the ED in Ranchi on Tuesday for recording his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. The money laundering investigation pertains to alleged irregularities in the state rural development department.