A special PMLA court in Ahmedabad has framed criminal charges, under the anti-money laundering law, against TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale on Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate said. "The Ld. Principal District and Sessions Judge, Ahmedabad (Rural) and designated Special Court PMLA, Ahmedabad today framed criminal charges against Saket Gokhale, MP Rajya Sabha and national spokesperson of All India Trinamool Congress under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002...," the central agency said in a statement. It said a charge sheet was filed against the 31-year-old MP under the anti-money laundering law last year. "Charges against him for the scheduled offence in the police case (Gujarat Police) had also been framed," it said. The special court had also rejected the application filed by Gokhale under Section 309 of the CrPC for keeping the proceedings under PMLA, 2002 in abeyance till the case of scheduled offence registered against him is decided by the court,
The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended the interim bail granted to Hyderabad-based businessman Abhishek Boinpally in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. A bench of justices M M Sundresh and Aravind Kumar adjourned the matter for hearing on October 14 as Additional Solicitor General S V Raju was not available. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Boinpally, submitted that the petitioner was arrested in October 2022 and referred to AAP leader Manish Sisodia case while seeking bail for him. During the brief hearing, advocate Zoheb Hossain, appearing for the ED, told the court that Boinpally has been out on interim bail owing to the condition of his wife, who is suffering from various ailments, since March 6 and requested the court to hear the matter in the presence of ASG. The apex court then adjourned the matter as the ASG was not available while extending the interim relief. On March 20, the top court noted that the businessman has been in
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on August 12 the pleas filed by BRS leader K Kavitha challenging the Delhi High Court's verdict denying her bail in corruption and money laundering cases linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. The high court had on July 1 dismissed Kavitha's bail pleas in both the cases, saying she was prima facie one of the main conspirators in the criminal conspiracy related to the formation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. According to the cause list of August 12 uploaded on the apex court's website, a bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan is slated to hear her petitions. While dismissing her bail pleas, the high court had said no case for grant of regular bail was made for now as the investigation is at a crucial stage. It had rejected her plea for relief on the grounds of being a woman, saying as a well-educated person and a former MP, she cannot be equated to a vulnerable female, and the court cannot
AAP leader and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday offered prayers at the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place, a day after he was released from jail in the Delhi excise policy case. The Supreme Court on Friday gave Sisodia bail in corruption and money laundering cases linked to the alleged excise policy "scam" and said his long incarceration of 17 months without trial had deprived him of the right to speedy justice. He reached the temple along with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including MP Sanjay Singh and ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj. Scores of party workers had gathered on the temple premises to greet him and raised slogans of "Jai Sri Ram" and "Jai Hanuman" as he arrived. Sisodia said, "May Lord Hanuman bless all the people of Delhi." AAP MP Singh said nothing will be achieved with politics of "hatred and revenge" and hoped Delhi Chief Minister and party supremo Arvind Kejriwal is also out of jail soon. Sisodia will go to Rajghat and then address
"It is high time that the trial courts and high courts recognise that the principle of bail is a rule and jail is an exception"
More than 5,200 money-laundering cases have been registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), with convictions obtained in 40 and acquittal in three since 2014, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday. The data was provided by Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. A total of 5,297 cases were lodged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the ED between 2014 and 2024, the data said. It said 40 cases resulted in conviction during the said period. However, one case resulted in acquittal during this year while two cases led to acquittals in 2017, the data shared by the minister showed. A total of 375 accused are currently under arrest under the anti-money laundering law for the period between 2016 and 2024, he stated. Rai also provided similar data for cases registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), apart from acquittals and convictions under the anti-terror law between 2014 and 2022
Challenging his arrest, Kejriwal's counsel had contended that it was an insurance arrest to ensure that he stays in prison
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia's bail pleas in corruption and money laundering cases linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. The former deputy chief minister of Delhi has sought bail contending that he has been in custody for 16 months and the trial against him has not made any progress since October last year. According to the cause list of July 29 uploaded on the Supreme Court website, a bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan is slated to hear Sisodia's pleas. The apex court had on July 16 agreed to hear the pleas and sought responses from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Sisodia has also filed an application seeking revival of his bail petitions in the excise policy-linked corruption and money laundering cases. The AAP leader was arrested by the CBI on February 26, 2023 in connection with alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of th
BRS MLC K Kavitha had not only collected upfront payment in the Delhi excise policy scam but also played a role in the transfer of the "ill-gotten money" to Goa in 2021-22 to be used in the election campaign of the Aam Aadmi Party, the CBI has alleged in its supplementary charge sheet. Special judge for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases Kaveri Baweja took note of the charge sheet on Monday observing that there was sufficient evidence to proceed against her in the case. The judge also directed the CBI to supply copies of the supplementary charge sheet to Kavitha, who was produced before the court through video conference. Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, has been accused of conspiring with other members of a liquor cartel called "South Group" and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders as part of which kickbacks of Rs 100 crore were paid to the Delhi's ruling party in return for liquor licences. A significant portion of that money was ...
The raids, carried out on July 16, also led to the seizure of digital devices and incriminating documents
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday took former Minister B Nagendra into custody, as part of a money-laundering probe linked to the alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Limited, official sources said. The Congress MLA was taken to the ED office here from his residence for questioning, the sources said. Following allegations against him in connection with the scam, Nagendra, who was Scheduled Tribes Welfare Minister, tendered his resignation on June 6. "I'm being brought from my home...I don't know anything," Nagendra told reporters as he was being taken to the ED office. The ED has carried out searches for the last two days at several places, including at the premises of former Karnataka Minister Nagendra and ruling Congress MLA Basanagouda Daddal, who is Chairman of the Corporation. The agency covered around 20 locations in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra as part of a case registered under the ...
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has seized about Rs 3 crore in cash after it conducted searches against a Kolkata-based cooperative society and the Sahara group as part of a money laundering probe linked to alleged duping of investor funds worth Rs 24,000 crore. The federal agency said in a statement that the raids were undertaken against Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Ltd. at Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai. It did not say when these searches were carried out. During the operation, "incriminating" documents including books of account, digital devices of Humara India and other Sahara Group entities were seized along with "proceeds of crime" worth Rs 2.98 crore in cash, it said. The money laundering investigation stems from FIRs registered by Odisha, Bihar and Rajasthan police against the Humara India Credit Cooperative Society, Sahara India Group companies and associated persons. "The society collected more than Rs 24,000 crore from more than one crore investor
Illegal online betting and gambling companies act as channels for money laundering and terrorist financing, said a report by Rashtriya Raksha Universty's The Security and Scientific Technical Research Association. IT Rules 2021 differentiates between permissible online real money gaming and illegal betting and gambling practices. Yet, the report suggested the need for a registration mechanism to whitelist legitimate online real money gaming platforms that operate in compliance with laws of India. "Illegal online gambling and betting applications expose Indian digital nagriks to several security risks like cybersecurity attacks and unsafe online environments. They have also emerged as a threat to India's national security because illegal online betting and gambling websites act as channels for money laundering and terrorist financing," The Security and Scientific Technical Research Association (SASTRA) report said. It said that the current legal and regulatory framework doesn't ...
The Enforcement Directorate has summoned YouTuber Siddharth Yadav alias Elvish Yadav on July 23 for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the suspected use of snake venom as a recreational drug in parties hosted by him, official sources said on Wednesday. The central agency had registered the case in May and pressed charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of an FIR and a charge sheet filed against Elvish Yadav and linked persons by police in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida) district. The sources said Elvish Yadav was initially asked to appear this week before the ED at its Lucknow office but he sought deferment of the summons owing to his scheduled foreign travel and professional commitments. He has now been asked to depose before the investigating officer of the ED on July 23, they said. Rahul Yadav alias Rahul Fazilpuriya, a singer from Haryana allegedly linked to Elvish Yadav, was questioned by the ED this week in
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it seized Rs 41 lakh in cash, "incriminating" documents and digital devices during searches conducted as part of a money laundering case linked to alleged corruption in the augmentation of some Sewage Treatment Plants by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). The raids were launched on July 3 and covering multiple places in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Hyderabad, the probe agency said in a statement. The money laundering investigation stems from an FIR of the Delhi government anti-corruption branch (ACB) against a company named Euroteck Environmental Pvt Ltd. and others alleging a scam in the DJB in the name of augmentation and upgradation of 10 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) at Pappankala, Nilothi [Package 1], Najafgarh, Keshopur [Package 2], Coronation Pillar, Narela, Rohini [Package 3] and Kondli [Package 4]. These four tenders, valued at Rs 1,943 crore, were awarded to various joint venture (JV) entities in October, 2022. According to the ED, the
Brazil's Federal Police have indicted former President Jair Bolsonaro for money laundering and criminal association in connection with undeclared diamonds the far-right leader received from Saudi Arabia during his time in office, according to a source with knowledge of the accusations. A second source confirmed the indictment, although not for which specific crimes. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. Brazil's Supreme Court has yet to receive the police report with the indictment. Once it does, the country's prosecutor-general, Paulo Gonet, will analyze the document and decide whether to file charges and force Bolsonaro to stand trial. The indictment dramatically raises the stakes in a series of investigations into the divisive ex-leader applauded by his opponents but denounced as political persecution by his supporters. Bolsonaro and his lawyers have denied any wrongdoing related to the case, as well as the slew of ...
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The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear 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 on Monday. A vacation bench of Justice CT Ravikumar and Justice Manoj Misra is likely to hear the matter. The top court had earlier refused to grant interim bail to the Punjab MLA to campaign for the Lok Sabha polls. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had also dismissed a plea by the legislator challenging his arrest, observing that there was no illegality. In May 2023, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted raids on premises linked to Gajjan Majra in connection with an alleged Rs 40 crore bank fraud. In September 2022, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on several premises linked to him as part of a money-laundering probe in connection with the alleged bank loan fraud. The ED team had seized Rs 32 lakh in cash, some mobile phones and hard drives.
Finmin says it demonstrates the overall stability and integrity of the financial system
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday filed a fresh and the ninth charge sheet in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case naming a person called Vinod Chauhan as an accused, official sources said. Chauhan was arrested by the federal agency in May as part of this investigation. The sources said a fresh and the ninth prosecution complaint (charge sheet) was filed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court here naming Vinod Chauhan. He was the 18th person to have been arrested by the ED in this case in which it has also taken into custody Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, his party colleague and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh, BRS leader and former Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao's politician daughter K Kavitha and several liquor businessmen and others. The ED has mentioned the alleged role of Chauhan in this case in an official document submitted before a court in relation to t