Page 16 - Money Laundering

Madras HC rejects bail plea of TN Minister Balaji in money laundering case

The Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed the bail petition of Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case. Justice G Jayachandran dismissed the bail petition of Senthil Balaji. The judge observed that since the brother of the petitioner was absconding and the petitioner was holding the post of a Minister without portfolio, he may likely tamper with witnesses. Balaji was arrested on June 14 by the ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to cash-for-jobs scam when he was the Transport Minister during the earlier AIADMK regime.

SC sets Nov 22 to hear review petition challenging various PMLA provisions

The top court has clarified that would be addressing issues only related to PMLA on certain parameters

RBI revises its KYC rules to strengthen money laundering prevention

The revised norms clarify the standing of principal officers (PO) in regulated entities (RE) who are responsible for furnishing information

Partners with 10% stake to come under beneficial owners: Sebi tweaks rules

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Friday tweaked guidelines pertaining to anti-money laundering standards, whereby partners holding a 10 per cent stake in a firm will come under the definition of beneficial owners. Earlier, the requirement was 15 per cent. The development comes after the government amended the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules or PMLA rules in September. In case the client is a partnership firm, the beneficial owner would be the one who has "ownership of/ entitlement to more than 10 per cent of capital or profits of the partnership or who exercises control through other means", Sebi said in its updated guidelines on anti-money laundering standards and combating the financing of terrorism obligations of securities market intermediaries. To ensure that the registered intermediaries properly discharge their legal obligations to report suspicious transactions to the authorities, the regulator said that the Principal Officer would be responsi

ED attaches assets over Rs 57 cr in Karuvannur bank money laundering case

A total of 117 immovable properties located in three southern states, deposits in 92 banks and vehicles worth over Rs 57 crore have been attached in a money laundering probe linked to the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank of Kerala, the ED said on Friday. The Enforcement Directorate issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach the assets. The total value of these properties is Rs 57.75 crore. The attached assets include 117 immovable properties consisting of land and buildings in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu; movable properties including 11 vehicles, fixed deposits and credit balances in 92 bank accounts of individuals found actively involved in the offence of money laundering, the federal agency said in a statement. The probe found loans were "illegally" sanctioned and disbursed to these persons and their benamis from the Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank Ltd. in cash without sufficient collateral as part of a systematic conspirac

Vivo PMLA case: Court extends ED custody of accused by three days

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday sought extension of the custody of four people arrested in a money laundering case against Chinese smart phone maker Vivo, including the managing director of Lava International mobile company and a Chinese national, by 10 days. Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala had on October 10 sent the accused to ED's custody for three days. The four accused- Hari Om Rai, the MD of Lava International company, Chinese national Guangwen alias Andrew Kuang, and Chartered Accountants Nitin Garg and Rajan Malik- were produced in the court on Friday on expiry of their custody. The prosecution sought extension of their custody so they could be interrogated further. It said they had to be confronted with 13 witnesses and digital data from multiple devices had to be extracted. The defence counsel opposed the agency's plea, claiming the ED was engaging in "flagrant violation of procedures". The court is expected to pass an order on ED's applicatio

Excise policy case: AAP's Sanjay Singh sent to judicial custody till Oct 27

A Delhi court on Friday sent AAP leader Sanjay Singh, arrested in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, to judicial custody till October 27. Special Judge M K Nagpal ordered Singh to be sent to jail after the probe agency produced him before the court on expiry of his Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody. During the brief hearing, the judge also directed Singh not to give speech about unrelated matters inside the court. The judge issued the direction after Singh claimed before the court that the ED didn't work on his complaint against Adani. Singh was referring to industrialist Gautam Adani, who is considered close to the ruling establishment at the Centre with which Singh's AAP has been locked in a running feud. No unrelated matter. If you've to give speech about Adani and Modi, I'll ask for your production through video conferencing from now onwards, the judge said. The Rajya Sabha MP claimed before the court that the ED did not ask him relevan

Excise policy case: HC seeks ED stand on Sanjay Singh's plea against arrest

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought the Enforcement Directorate's stand on a plea by AAP leader Sanjay Singh against his arrest in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021-22. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma asked the ED to file its response to the petition and listed the matter for hearing on Tuesday morning. The counsel appearing for the Rajya Sabha MP said due procedure was not followed when he was arrested by the investigating agency without any prior summons or notice in the case. "I am on procedure, he said. The ED's lawyer asked the court to grant him time to file a response to the petition. Today judicial custody is granted...I am entitled to put in a reply. Give me two days, he said. A trial court today remanded Singh, arrested on October 4, in judicial custody till October 27. Singh's petition was listed for hearing after it was mentioned for urgent listing by his lawyer before the high court bench headed by C

Enforcement Directorate arrests Lava MD, 3 others under PMLA in Vivo probe

Says their acts detrimental to India's economic sovereignty

Money laundering case: SC to hear Satyendar Jain's bail plea on October 9

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a bail plea of former Delhi minister Satyendar Kumar Jain in a money laundering case lodged against him. A bench of Justice A S Bopanna and Justice Bela M Trivedi will continue hearing the petition of Satyendar Jain and co-accused Ankush Jain. On September 25, the top court, while extending the interim bail of Jain till October 9, asked him to not make the pendency of the proceedings before the apex court a ruse to delay the trial in the case. The Enforcement Directorate has claimed that the AAP leader was seeking repeated adjournments in the trial court on the ground that his bail plea was pending before the apex court. The probe agency has alleged that Jain has taken as many as 16 dates from the trial court. The Supreme Court had on May 26 granted interim bail to Jain for six weeks for spinal surgery, saying a citizen has a right to receive treatment of his choice in a private hospital at his own expense. On September 12, it extend

ED arrests Hardoi pharmacy institute's chairman on money laundering charges

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said it has arrested the chairman of a Hardoi-based pharmacy institute as part of its ongoing money laundering investigation into alleged Rs 100-crore scholarship scam in Uttar Pradesh. Ram Gopal, chairman of Jivika Institute of Pharmacy and manager of Dr B R Ambedkar Educational Society, Hardoi was taken into custody on Friday and a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Lucknow sent him to ED custody for seven days on Saturday, the federal agency said in a statement. This is the fifth arrest in this case by the ED. The money laundering case stems from an Uttar Pradesh Police FIR. The probe found that managers and trustees of various institutes got "fake" students admitted to their institutes and applied for scholarships in their names on the government portal with the sole purpose of taking wrongful advantage of government schemes meant for needy students, the ED said. All the formalities in this regard were comple

Untenable, bogus: NewsClick rejects allegations levelled in FIR against it

The NewsClick portal has rejected as untenable and bogus allegations levelled in a Delhi Police FIR against it, and said the proceedings initiated are "nothing but a blatant attempt to muzzle the free and independent press in India". In an FIR filed under anti-terror law UAPA against NewsClick, the Delhi Police has alleged a large sum of funds came from China to disrupt India's sovereignty and cause disaffection against the country as part of a "larger criminal conspiracy" It claimed the foreign fund was fraudulently infused by Neville Roy Singham, an active member of the propaganda department of the Communist Party of China.The Delhi Police served a copy of the FIR to the portal on Friday. In a statement issued on X on Friday night, the portal said, "The Newsclick has not received any funding or instructions from China or Chinese entities. Further, Newsclick has never committed or sought to encourage violence, secession or any illegal act in any manner whatsoever. "A perusal of ..

ED not expected to be vindictive in conduct, should act with probity: SC

The Enforcement Directorate is not expected to be "vindictive" in its conduct and must act with utmost probity and fairness, the Supreme Court has held, and directed the anti-money laundering agency to henceforth furnish the grounds of arrest to the accused in writing "without exception". In a significant verdict having far-reaching ramifications, the apex court said being a premier investigating agency charged with the onerous responsibility of curbing the debilitating economic offence of money laundering in the country, every action of the ED in the course of such exercise is expected to be "transparent, above board and conforming to pristine standards of fair play in action". "The ED, mantled with far-reaching powers under the stringent Act of 2002, is not expected to be vindictive in its conduct and must be seen to be acting with utmost probity and with the highest degree of dispassion and fairness," a bench of Justices AS Bopanna and Sanjay Kumar said. The top court, which set

India makes progress in Global Terrorism Index, efforts can save $159 bn

India has made good progress in strengthening security measures in the past few years but scaling it further would save USD 159 billion from laundering through illicit trade, a report said. According to a Ficci CASCADE report, India has a GTI score of 7.43 and a crime index score of 44.7, reflecting fewer terror and crime incidents compared to the levels observed in 2016. Illicit trade undermines national security, risks legitimate manufacturing, leaks government revenue, jeopardises public health and safety, and erodes the trust of consumers and investors alike," it said. Tackling this issue is fundamental for safeguarding India's economic stability, ensuring fair competition, and fostering an environment conducive to sustainable growth and ease of doing business, it said. Tax authorities play a crucial role in the fight against illicit trade in its entirety, it said. Anil Rajput, Chairman of Ficci CASCADE, highlighted the steps taken by the government to choke terror funding and

Y-Combinator-backed Mudrex becomes FIU-registered crypto platform

Mudrex has become the third crypto platform to be registered with the FIU after WazirX and CoinDCX

PFI money laundering case: ED conducted searches at 12 locations in Kerala

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday conducted raids at several locations linked to former members of the banned Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) across the state. Searches are underway at various places in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram and Wayanad districts of the state, police said. The houses of former PFI leaders Abdul Samad and Latheef were also searched in Wayanad and Thrissur districts, they said. According to sources, the raids were launched to ascertain the alleged source of funding for the banned outfit. The central government had on September 28, 2022 declared the PFI as an 'unlawful association' under UAPA and imposed a ban on it for five years.

Credit card users in India may no longer be able to overpay their dues

The banks have put guards in their applications to prevent customers from overpaying their credit card dues

Delhi excise policy case: ED summons K Kavitha for questioning on Friday

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned BRS leader and the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, K Kavitha, at its Delhi office on Friday for questioning in connection with the excise policy case in the national capital, officials said. Kavitha was questioned several times at the ED headquarters in March and had to submit her mobile phones to the federal agency. 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 paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the national capital. The policy was subsequently scrapped and the Delhi lieutenant governor had recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). During its probe, the ED had recorded the statement of Butchibabu, an accountant allegedly linked to Kavitha, in which he had said "there was ...

Flying solo into trouble: The rise and fall of Jet Airways' Naresh Goyal

Goyal, who faces accusations of misappropriating Jet Airways' funds, is currently embroiled in a legal struggle with investigative agencies

Bhupesh Baghel's political advisor denies involvement in money laundering

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's political advisor Vinod Verma on Thursday claimed he does not have a "single penny" of ill-gotten money, a day after the Enforcement Directorate conducted a search at his residence. Addressing a press conference here, Vinod Verma also said he has no connection with assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Chandrabhushan Verma, arrested along with three others by the ED on Wednesday in a money laundering case linked to the alleged illegal betting app called 'Mahadev Online Book'. Alleged hawala operator brothers Anil and Sunil Dammani and a man identified as Satish Chandrakar are the three others arrested in the case. According to the ED, the probe has found that around Rs 65 crore cash was received by ASI Chandrabhushan Verma. He kept his cut and distributed the rest as bribes to senior police officers and politicians, it claimed. The ED on Wednesday conducted searches at the premises of Vinod Verma, who is also a member of the All India Congress .