Page 13 - Money Laundering

ED claims court accepted offence by Arvind Kejriwal for refusing summons

The complaint was filed against Kejriwal for intentionally disobeying the first three summons issued to him, sources said

Delhi excise policy case: CM Kejriwal skips ED summons for sixth time

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will not appear before the Enforcement Directorate on Monday for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy, the AAP said. Terming the agency's sixth summons to its national convener as "illegal", the party said that the ED should wait for the court's decision instead of repeatedly sending summonses to Kejriwal. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had approached a city court after Kejriwal skipped multiple summonses. On Saturday, the court had granted exemption to Kejriwal from personal appearance for the day in connection with the complaint filed by the central agency. The application moved by Kejriwal's counsel stated that the Budget Session of the Delhi assembly has commenced on February 15 and shall continue till the first week of March. He will physically appear before the court on the next date of hearing on March 16, it said.

Money laundering: ED makes 9th arrest in Mahadev betting app case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has made a fresh and the ninth arrest in connection with its money-laundering probe into the alleged illegal operations of the Mahadev online gaming and betting application that purportedly involve high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh. Nitish Diwan was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Raipur on Thursday and a special court sent him to the ED's custody till February 24, the federal agency said in a statement. This is the ninth arrest in the case by the ED. It earlier arrested Nitin Tibrewal, a resident of Kolkata, Raipur-based Amit Agrawal, alleged cash courier Asim Das, police constable Bheem Singh Yadav, Assistant Sub-Inspector Chandrabhushan Verma, alleged "hawala" operator brothers Anil and Sunil Dammani and a man identified as Satish Chandrakar. "Nitish Diwan was working at the highest level of Mahadev Online Book (MOB) in the UAE. He was close to the promoters of th

7 held by HK customs for $1.8 bn money laundering case linked to India

At least seven persons were arrested by Hong Kong customs authorities on Friday in connection with the territory's biggest money-laundering case involving a whopping HKD 14 billion (USD 1.8 billion) some of it was linked to a mobile app scam case in India. The syndicate used stooge bank accounts and shell companies to transfer the largest amount linked to a single case recorded in the city, the Customs and Excise Department of Hong Kong said. The operation was linked to a mobile app scam in India and two jewellery companies in the country, which allegedly handled about HKD2.9 billion (USD 371 million) of the funds, Suzette Ip Tung-ching, the head of customs' financial investigation bureau told the media in Hong Kong. Ip described the amounts laundered as astonishing with one of the accounts receiving as much as HKD100 million (USD 12.8 million) a day and carrying out as many as 50 daily transactions. Some of those arrested were non-Chinese residents of Hong Kong, she said without .

Excise scam: ED issues 6th summons to CM Kejriwal in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate has issued a fresh and the 6th summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his questioning in the excise policy linked money laundering case, official sources said Wednesday. The 55-year-old leader, also the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has been asked to depose before the federal agency on February 19. A Delhi court last week had asked Kejriwal to appear before it on February 17 acting on a complaint filed by the ED for disobeying ED summons in this case and noted that prima facie the AAP chief was "legally bound" to comply. This is the 6th summons in this case by the ED to the former Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer. He was earlier called on dates like February 2, January 18 and January 3 this year and December 21 and November 2 in 2023. The CM has always called these notices "illegal".

Ex-NCB officer Sameer Wankhede moves HC against ED's money laundering case

Former Mumbai NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede has moved the Bombay High Court challenging the Enforcement Directorate's money laundering case against him, claiming that it was a "counter blast" to a complaint filed by him against the anti-drug agency's senior official. The ED registered the money laundering case against Wankhede after taking cognisance of a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR in an alleged Rs 25 crore bribe demand from Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's family to spare his son Aryan Khan in a drugs case. Wankhede, a 2008-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the Customs and Indirect Taxes cadre, in his plea said the ED's case "smacks of malice and vendetta". The petition filed on February 6 through advocates Karan Jain, Sneha Sanap and Aditya Targe sought for the ED case to be quashed and an interim order to be passed granting him protection from any coercive action. Wankhede also sought for the probe being carried out by the ED to be stayed till

ED raids Karnataka Congress MLA Nara Bharath in money-laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided more than a dozen locations in Karnataka on Saturday as part of a money-laundering investigation against Congress MLA Nara Bharath Reddy and some others, official sources said. The premises of the 34-year-old legislator from Bellary and some other locations in Karnataka and Telangana are being searched, they said. Officials of the central agency searched Reddy's locations in Bellary and Bengaluru. The money-laundering case against Reddy stems from an FIR lodged by the Karnataka Police and allegations of land deals that are under the ED's scanner. Some mining and quarrying businesses allegedly linked to the MLA are also being investigated by the agency.

ED files case against ex-NCB Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede

The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case against former Mumbai NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede taking cognisance of a CBI FIR in an alleged Rs 25-crore bribe demand from superstar Shah Rukh Khan's family to spare his son in a drugs case, official sources said Saturday. The central agency has booked the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. Some former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officials have also been summoned. Wankhede, a 2008-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the Customs and Indirect Taxes cadre, has moved the Bombay High Court seeking protection from any coercive action by the anti-money laundering agency. He was booked by the CBI in May last year on charges of seeking Rs 25-crore bribe for not framing Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case, officials had said. Aryan Khan was arrested in the alleged drug bust case on the Cordelia cruise ship on October 2, 2021. The Central Bureau

Money laundering probe against Soren: ED summons Cong MP Dhiraj Sahu

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand Dhiraj Prasad Sahu for questioning in a money laundering case in which the central agency arrested former chief minister Hemant Soren, official sources said Thursday. Sahu, 64, was in the news after the Income-tax department in December recovered Rs 351.8 crore cash, an all-time high seizure, during raids against Odisha-based Boudh Distillery Pvt. Ltd. (BDPL), promoted by the family of the Congress legislator. Sources said the ED wants to question and record Sahu's statement in connection with his purported links with Soren and a BMW SUV that was seized by the agency from the JMM leader's house in Delhi sometime back. The agency raided a premise in Kardarpur village in Gurugram on Wednesday on whose address this Haryana number plate bearing SUV was registered, the sources said. Two locations in Kolkata were also searched in the same case on Wednesday. The ED suspects this vehicle to be allegedly linked

Sanjay Singh gets nod from court to attend Parliament to take oath as RS MP

A Delhi court on Tuesday granted fresh permission to AAP leader Sanjay Singh, arrested in alleged excise scam, to attend Parliament to take oath as a Rajya Sabha MP. Special Judge MK Nagpal allowed Singh to go to Parliament in police custody either on February 8 or 9. The judge passed the order on the application filed by Singh, seeking directions to the jail superintendent concerned for taking him physically to Rajya Sabha to take oath as its member. The judge had earlier on February 3 allowed a similar application filed by Singh. However, the AAP leader could not take oath despite reaching Parliament on Monday. Official sources cited the direction of Rajya Sabha on August 11, 2023 that Singh's suspension for unruly conduct during the monsoon session will remain in force and he cannot attend proceedings till the Privileges Committee submits its report and it is considered by the House. The application sought direction to the authorities concerned to take him again to Rajya Sabha

AAP leader Sanjay Singh not allowed to take Rajya Sabha oath: Reports

Jailed AAP leader Sanjay Singh, who has been re-elected to Rajya Sabha from Delhi, on Monday could not take oath as it was not listed in the business of the House, sources in the Rajya Sabha secretariat said. Singh, who is in judicial custody in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, came to Parliament to take oath following permission from a Delhi court. The Aam Aadmi Party said Singh should have been allowed to take oath but official sources cited the August 11th direction of the Upper House that Singh's suspension for unruly conduct during the Monsoon session will remain in force and he cannot attend proceedings till the Privileges Committee submits its report and it is considered by the House. That the matter pertains to Singh's previous term has no impact on this, they said. "Summons (for oath taking) were not issued to Sanjay Singh who had also been elected, as he suffered the directives of the House passed on 11th August 2023 disentitling him

Money laundering, KYC non-compliance led to ban on Paytm Bank by RBI

Money laundering concerns and questionable dealings of hundreds of crores of rupees between popular wallet Paytm and its lesser-known banking arm had led Reserve Bank of India to clamp down on tech poster boy Vijay Sekhar Sharma-run entities, sources said. The central bank has ordered Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) to halt most of its business including taking further deposits, conducting credit transactions and carrying out top-ups on any customer accounts, prepaid instruments, wallets, and cards for paying road tolls after February 29. This means customers can access their existing deposits and pay for services with money stored in their wallets till February 29. And in case, RBI does not relent, top-up for Paytm wallet will stop and transactions through it would no longer can be carried. In a major action against PPBL, the Reserve Bank earlier this week directed the lender to stop accepting deposits or top-ups in customer accounts, wallets, FASTags and other instruments after ...

Delhi CM Kejriwal likely to skip ED summons for fifth time: Report

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal is unlikely to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy, sources in the party said. The ED on Wednesday issued a fresh and the fifth summons to Kejriwal after he skipped four earlier summonses issued by the federal agency over the last four months. Though the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) remained tight-lipped about whether the Delhi CM will appear before the probe agency, sources in the party said that he is likely to skip the summons this time too. The AAP has maintained that its legal team is studying the summons issued to Kejriwal in connection with the excise policy linked money laundering case. Kejriwal is scheduled to participate in a protest along with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann outside the BJP headquarters on Friday against the alleged cheating in Chandigarh mayoral polls. On Tuesday, in a setback to the Congress and the AAP

Delhi Waqf Board case: HC questions maintainability of Amanat's plea

However during the hearing Justice Rekha Palli questioned the maintainability of the plea

ED reaches Soren's residence, to question him in money laundering case

Amid heavy security cover, Enforcement Directorate officials on Wednesday reached Chief Minister Hemant Soren's residence here to question him in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. Soren, 48, who is also the executive president of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), had earlier been questioned in connection with the case on January 20. The interrogation that day was incomplete, an official said, adding, the fresh round of questioning will start soon. Legislators of the ruling JMM-led coalition have gathered at Soren's residence here to express their solidarity with the CM.

Delhi excise policy case: Sisodia moves to court seeking regular bail

He was granted custody parole to meet his ailing wife on Diwali on November 10, 2023

ED searches Essel Group companies in Religare Finvest money laundering case

Meanwhile,Essel Group said the search conducted by the ED was related to an enquiry regarding Religare Group

ED raids Chennai infrastructure firm, promoters in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday raided multiple premises in Chennai as part of a money laundering investigation involving a city-based civil construction and infrastructure company, its promoters and linked persons, official sources said. The probe by the central agency was initiated after taking cognisance of an FIR filed by the central crime branch (CCB) of Greater Chennai Police against Ocean Lifespaces India Private Limited, its MD and CEO S K Peter, some directors and others. About six-seven locations in and around Chennai city are being covered by ED officials under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. The CCB FIR was filed last year on the complaint of a former director of the company, B Sriram, who alleged he was "cheated" by the promoters and later he also moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) challenging his removal from the board of the company. The company promoters and directors subsequently moved the Madras

Mahadev app case: ED makes two fresh arrests in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested two more persons in connection with its money laundering investigation into the Mahadev online betting and gaming app case, officials said on Saturday. Nitin Tibrewal, a resident of Kolkata, and Raipur-based Amit Agrawal were taken into custody under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and produced before a special court here on Friday, ED lawyer Saurabh Pandey said. The court sent them to ED custody till January 17, he said. Tibrewal is the majority shareholder of Techpro IT Solutions Ltd, a company that was acting as a "front" for Mahadev Online Book (Mahadev app) and investing the proceeds of crime generated out of illegal operations in India by way of foreign portfolio investment, the ED said in a statement. He "tried to conceal this fact despite multiple opportunities granted to him. He also did not reveal his foreign bank accounts and assets before the ED which have been discovered during the course of ...

ED arrests 5 people in money laundering case linked to Rajasthan paper leak

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday said it has arrested five people as part of its money laundering investigation into an alleged teacher recruitment exam paper leak case in Rajasthan. Suresh Kumar alias Suresh Sau, Vijay Damore, Peeraram, Pukhraj, and Arun Sharma were taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on January 11, the agency said. They were sent to three-day ED custody by a special PMLA court in Jaipur, it said in a statement. The probe pertains to alleged paper leak case of senior teacher 2nd grade competitive examination, 2022 in Rajasthan. Former Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) member Babulal Katara and two other persons identified as Anil Kumar Meena and Bhupendra Saran were earlier arrested by the ED in this case. Arun Sharma provided 29 candidates (for whom leaked papers were arranged and who were appearing for the said competitive examination) to Anil Kumar Meena in lieu of Rs 2 lakh per candidate, th