Page 4 - Money Laundering

SC protects Shreyas Talpade from arrest in Haryana marketing scam case

The Supreme Court on Monday granted protection from arrest to actor Shreyas Talpade in a case of cheating and breach of trust against a society. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and K V Viswanathan issued notice to Haryana Police and others on the actor's plea. Thirteen people, including actors and brand ambassadors Talpade and Alok Nath, were booked ont he complaint of 37-year-old Sonipat resident Vipul Antil. Antil alleged both the actors "promoted the Human Welfare Credit Cooperative Society Ltd, as brand ambassadors". Additional Commissioner of Police, Murthal, Sonipat, Ajeet Singh said the complaint was against a multi-marketing company under investigated. About the two actors, the ACP had said, "It has been alleged that they were its brand ambassadors and victims get lured to invest because of such personalities. They were named in the complaint. An FIR has been registered. Now, it will be investigated what was their role." The FIR was registered on January 22 under Secti

SC refuses urgent hearing on plea for FIR against Justice Varma in cash row

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to list for urgent hearing a plea seeking the registration of an FIR against the Allahabad High Court's Justice Yashwant Varma in connection with the cash discovery row. A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was urged by lawyer Mathews Nedumpara that it was his third petition on the issue, and it be listed for hearing urgently. "Do you want it to be dismissed right now?" the CJI asked, adding that it will be listed in due course. "It is impossible to be dismissed. An FIR has to be registered. Now Varma seems to be asking for that only. There has to be an FIR, an investigation," the lawyer said. The bench took strong note of the fact that the lawyer addressed the high court judge as Varma'. "Is he your friend? He is still Justice Verma. How do you address him? Have some decorum. You are referring to a learned judge. He is still a judge of the court," the CJI said. "I don't think that greatness can apply to him.

ED not a drone to attack at will on any criminal activity, says Madras HC

ED not a drone to attack at will on any criminal activity: Madras HC

ED raids Bhupesh Baghel's house in connection with case against son

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday launched fresh raids at the premises of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel's son Chaitanya Baghel in connection with a money laundering probe against him linked to an alleged liquor scam, officials said. Chaitanya Baghel's house in Bhilai town, which he shares with his father, is being searched by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on receipt of fresh evidence in the case, they said. The federal probe agency conducted similar raids against Chaitanya Baghel in March this year. Bhupesh Baghel, a senior Congress leader, also posted a message on X saying the ED has reached his Bhilai residence on the last day of the assembly session. The ED earlier said Chaitanya Baghel was suspected to be the "recipient" of the proceeds of crime of the alleged liquor scam. It has said the Chhattisgarh liquor "scam" resulted in a "massive loss" to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of a liqu

ED raids in UP, Mumbai in conversion racket case linked to Chhangur Baba

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday raided multiple locations in Uttar Pradesh and Mumbai as part of a money laundering investigation into an alleged religious conversion racket linked to 'Chhangur baba', officials said. At least 14 premises, including 12 in Balrampur district and two in Mumbai, are being searched under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. The raids were launched around 5 am, along with a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) team, which was there to provide security cover to the ED officials. The federal probe agency recently filed a case to probe the activities and financial details of Jalaluddin alias Chhangur Baba, alleged to be a mastermind of an illegal religious conversion racket operating in Uttar Pradesh. Jalaluddin hails from Balrampur district, and his real name is Karimulla Shah. Jalaluddin, his son Mehboob and associates Naveen alias Jamaluddin and Neetu alias Nasreen were arrested by the UP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) recently,

ED arrests two people in money-laundering case against Sahara Group

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday said it has arrested two persons, an executive director of Sahara Group chairman's core management team and a long-time associate of the group cum property broker, as part of a money-laundering probe against the Sahara Group and its linked entities. The individuals taken into custody have been identified as Vailaparampil Abraham and Jitendra Prasad Verma, respectively. Abraham played a "key role" in coordinating and facilitating the sale of Sahara Group properties, many of which involved "substantial unaccounted" cash components that were allegedly siphoned off. Verma was "actively involved" in executing several of these property transactions and knowingly assisted in routing large "cash" proceeds generated from these sale transactions, thereby contributing to the concealment and dissipation of the "proceeds of crime", the central agency said in a statement. The ED said it came across "incriminating" evidence, during searches conducted in .

New special PMLA courts to expedite money laundering trials, says ED

The Enforcement Directorate on Sunday said it will be able to "significantly accelerate" trials in money laundering cases with the recent notification of special PMLA courts in various states. "In Telangana, a total of 16 special courts have now been notified, including two for Visakhapatnam. In Rajasthan, the number of such courts has been increased from one (earlier only at Jaipur) to five, including one for Jodhpur," the federal probe agency said in a statement. In Goa, it said, an exclusive special court to initiate trials in criminal cases registered and probed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been notified in North Goa. Till now, there was only one such special court for Goa, the ED said. The courts have been notified in those states where the number of such judicial forums were "inadequate" leading to "delays" in trial proceedings, according to the ED. "With the addition of these special courts, the Directorate (ED) will be able to significantly ...

FATF urges increased due diligence for Myanmar amid high-risk status

FATF has recommended enhanced due diligence measures for risks arising from Myanmar, maintaining its status as a high-risk jurisdiction. The RBI has issued the advisory based on FATF's guidelines

ED raids Haryana firm linked to illegal betting, freezes ₹284 crore assets

ED has frozen ₹284 crore worth of deposits and shares of Haryana-based Probo Media Technologies in a money laundering probe linked to illegal online betting and gambling through its app and website

ED probes 29 actors, influencers under PMLA for promoting betting apps

Actors Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj reportedly endorsed or appeared in promotional material for apps such as Junglee Rummy, JeetWin, and Lotus365, which violates betting regulations

ED raids in several Punjab, Haryana cities in 'donkey route' case

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches in multiple cities of Punjab and Haryana as part of a money laundering investigation into a 'donkey route' case related to illegal Indian immigrants who were deported by the US this year, official sources said. Offices and houses of suspects and agents in at least 11 cities in the two states -- Amritsar, Sangrur, Patiala and Moga in Punjab and Ambala, Kurukshetra and Karnal in Haryana-- are being raided under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. The money laundering case stems from 17 FIRs registered by Punjab and Haryana police departments against the travel/visa agents and middlemen who cheated various persons willing to go to the US illegally, they said. A number of Indians from these two states and few others were deported onboard US military planes in February this year and the agency later recorded the statements of few deportees. These statements and some linked investigation threw up the

ED raids 8 places in J'khand in money laundering case against Yogendra Sao

The raids have been underway since early morning in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh and Ranchi, based on an ongoing investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), official sources told ANI

Standard Chartered hit with $2.7 bn lawsuit over 1MDB money laundering

The claimants allege that Standard Chartered Bank permitted more than 100 intrabank transfers between 2009 and 2013 that helped to conceal the flow of stolen funds

ED attaches Mahira Group assets worth ₹557 cr in money laundering case

The ED initiated the probe based on FIRs filed by Gurugram Police against Sai Aaina Farms Pvt. Ltd. and others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code

Goa Police books actors Puja Banerjee, Kunal Verma for extortion, abduction

Goa Police have registered an FIR against TV actor couple Puja Banerjee and Kunal Verma for allegedly abducting and extorting money from Bengali filmmaker Shyam Sunder Dey, officials said on Saturday. An FIR was initially registered at Panache police station in Kolkata on June 12 against the actor couple on the complaint of Dey's wife Malabika. The case was transferred to Calangute Police in North Goa as the purported incident had occurred in their jurisdiction, an official said. Goa Police booked the actor couple, Piyush Kothari, and others on the charges of kidnapping, assault, and extortion. The official said Dey had been asked to appear before Goa Police for recording his statement. "We have asked him to appear before the investigating officer as soon as possible," the official said. Dey's wife stated in the FIR that her husband shared a familial relationship with Banerjee and Verma, who offered to fund his business project. Dey has 50 films to his credit. "He is frequently .

Summonses issued to Saluja's lawyers cause unrest among legal fraternity

The legal fraternity raises alarms after ED summons senior advocates Datar and Venugopal over advice in the Religare-Care Health ESOP case, citing threats to legal independence

ED seizes 322 mule accounts, dummy firms in ₹2K cr 'Delhi classroom scam'

ED raids 37 sites in Delhi, recovers fake contractor bills, government files and 322 mule-linked passbooks in Rs 2,000 crore classroom construction scam probe

BRS leader K T Rama Rao appears before Telangana ACB in Formula E race case

BRS Working President K T Rama Rao on Monday appeared before the Telangana government's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) as part of its ongoing inquiry in the Formula E race case. Speaking to reporters at the BRS headquarters here prior to his appearance, Rama Rao called the investigation against him "political harassment" and accused the Congress government of trying to divert public attention from its "failure" to fulfill the election promises. "May be, they will arrest me. But, one thing is sure. We had gone to jail earlier for the sake of Telangana (statehood). We are ready to go to jail again over a decision taken to promote Hyderabad's brand image. Ready to go to jail even 100 times. But, we will not spare the Congress government (on its poll promises)," he said. He added that truth will triumph in the end. The BRS Working President, who was the Municipal Administration Minister during the previous BRS regime, was questioned by the ACB in January this year in connection with the

Nexa Evergreen land Scam: ED raids 24 sites across Rajasthan, Gujarat

The real estate firm allegedly defrauded around 62,000 investors by offering land in Gujarat's Dholera and promising to double investments in 14 months

ED summons Dino Morea, freezes ₹1.25 cr in Mithi River desilting case

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday conducted searches at the premises of actor Dino Morea and some others in Maharashtra apart from some locations in Kerala as part of a money laundering investigation linked to the Mithi river desilting "scam", official sources said. The fraud is alleged to have caused a Rs 65 crore loss to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The raids are covering more than 15 premises located in Mumbai and Kochi. This includes the premises of Morea, his brother, contractors and some others, the sources said. The investigation is being conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. The ED case against certain officials of the BMC and some others stems from a Mumbai Police economic offences wing (EOW) FIR filed to probe alleged irregularities in desilting of the Mithi river that is alleged to have caused a Rs 65 crore loss to the civic body. Morea was questioned by the EOW in this case few days back. The EOW registered a ca