Page 3 - Pmla Case

Can't seal locked premises during PMLA searches: ED tells Madras HC

The Enforcement Directorate has submitted before the Madras High Court that it has no power to seal the premises, if the same was locked at the time of making search under the provisions of PMLA. Additional Solicitor General S V Raju made the submission when the petitions filed by film producer Akash Bhaskaran and businessman Vikram Ravindran came up for hearing before a division bench comprising Justices M S Ramesh and V Lakshminarayanan on Wednesday. In their petitions, Akash and Vikram challenged the action of ED in conducting the search at their residence and office and sealing the same. When the case came up, the bench questioned the power of ED to seal the premises. Raju submitted that the central prove agency has no power to seal the premises. However, it has powers under section 17 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to break open the lock. But, the ED did not want to escalate the situation, he added. He also informed the bench that the ED was instructed to withd

ED issues fresh summons to Robert Vadra in Sanjay Bhandri linked PMLA case

The Enforcement Directorate has issued a fresh summons to Robert Vadra, the businessman husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, for questioning in a money laundering case linked to UK-based arms consultant Sanjay Bhandari, official sources said on Monday. He has been asked to depose before the federal probe agency here on June 17 for the recording of his statement in this case that is being investigated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. Vadra, 56, was called for questioning in the case on June 10 but he skipped, saying he had flu-like symptoms on June 9 and had undertaken a COVID test as per protocol. His lawyer had then said that Vadra had no intention of avoiding summons and was ready to appear before the ED anytime before or after his travel abroad later this month. The agency is understood to have summoned Vadra to record his statement under the PMLA and subsequently file a chargesheet in the case. The federal probe agency had questio

ED arrests key accused Rohan Harmalkar in ₹1,000 crore Goa land scam

The alleged mastermind Rohan Harmalkar is charged with defrauding property owners using fake documents and tampering revenue records across prime tourist locations in Goa

Over 1,700 money laundering cases under trial: ED chief Rahul Navin

He attributed the delay in prosecution to the broader issue of slow judicial processes in the country

PMLA picked momentum after 2014; conviction rate over 93%: ED director

ED director Rahul Navin on Thursday said that the anti-money laundering law was left "largely ineffective" before 2014, and the slowdown in adjudication of these cases can be attributed to the "general delay" in the judicial system of the country coupled with the inherent complexity of such investigations. Navin also said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had a "commendable conviction" rate of 93.6 per cent as out of the 47 cases decided by courts till now, there have been only three acquittals. Speaking at an event held here to mark the 'ED Day', the agency chief said he "acknowledges candidly" that several investigations initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) were pending for a "very long time", and one their focus areas this year would be to undertake efforts to complete probe and file "final" chargesheets fast. The PMLA was enacted in 2003 and came into force on July 1, 2005, but, Navin said, it was "largely ineffective" in the initial years with less

Over 1,700 PMLA cases in trial stage; conviction rate at 93.6%: ED director

Over 1700 money laundering cases probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are currently in the trial stage and the delay in courts can be attributed to the general delay in the justice system in the country, ED Director Rahul Navin said on Thursday. The top officer of the ED, however, said the conviction rate of the ED cases was 93.6 per cent as out of 47 cases decided by courts till now, there have been only three acquittals. A total of 1,739 cases of PMLA are under trial at present and the delay in prosecution in the money laundering cases can be attributed to general delay in the justice system in the country, he said while addressing the ED Day event held here. Navin said he "candidly" acknowledges pending investigation in PMLA cases, saying it will be the agency's efforts to file chargesheets in such cases before courts. He said the ED will use advanced technology and forensics in its investigations. The federal probe agency has completed 69 years of its existence as it was

ED attaches properties worth Rs 110 crore in Lakhani Group bank fraud case

ED investigation revealed that M/s Lakhani India Limited and group companies had jointly defrauded Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab National Bank and Allahabad Bank by misappropriation

Tahir Hussain gets bail in money laundering case after 4 years of custody

He will remain in custody in a larger conspiracy of the Delhi riots case. He is also accused of a larger conspiracy in the Delhi Riots case

ED files plaint against 24 in Rs 2,467 crore credit society fraud case

During the PMLA investigation, ED found that Suresh Kute and others lured more than four lakh investors to deposit money with DMCSL by promising higher returns

AgustaWestland PMLA case: HC questions ED's dissent to Michel's bail plea

The bench of Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma questioned the Enforcement Directorate after James' lawyer, Aljo K Joseph, mentioned the Supreme Court's bail ruling

ED seizes 'biggest' crypto fund worth Rs 1,646 crore in PMLA case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized its biggest-ever cryptocurrency worth Rs 1,646 crore as part of a "mega" money laundering investigation into a fraud investment scheme where numerous depositors were duped in the name of securities investment, official sources said. The Ahmedabad office of the federal probe agency has also seized Rs 13.50 lakh in cash, an SUV and a number of digital devices after it concluded a fresh round of searches on Saturday in the case related to "fraudulent" and unregistered offering and sale of securities in the form of investments through 'BitConnect lending program'. The ED case, filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stems from an FIR of the Surat Police crime branch which said the alleged fraud that took place between November 2016 - January 2018 (after demonetisation). The agency deployed a team of its tech-savvy experts who examined the "complex web" of transactions carried out in "numerous" crypto wallets to unmask the ..

ED attaches assets worth over Rs 200 crore in Sri Lanka under PMLA probe

The Enforcement Directorate Thursday said it has attached an under-construction luxury hotel in Colombo's prime area and some other assets worth more than Rs 200 crore as part of a money laundering probe linked to a Gurugram-based realty company which is alleged to have duped homebuyers. The company named Krrish Realtech Private Limited is promoted by businessman Amit Katyal, who is believed to be a close associate of the family of RJD chief Lalu Prasad. Katyal was arrested by the central agency in 2023 in a separate money laundering case related to the railways alleged land-for-jobs scam involving Prasad and his family. The ED said in a statement that it has issued an order to provisionally attach an under-construction luxury hotel and leasehold rights over 4 acres of land in the "Colombo 1" area of Sri Lanka apart from land rights for about 2.82 acres of Vicinity Hotels Pvt. Ltd., in the name of Good Earth Business Park Pvt. Ltd. located at Sector-66 in Gurugram. The money ...

ED attaches assets worth Rs 135.06 cr in Adarsh credit cooperative case

In the case, ED had earlier attached properties amounting to Rs 2,075 crore have already been attached

ED attaches over 3 dozen horses worth Rs 4 crore in cyber fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate Wednesday said it has attached more than three dozen horses worth about Rs 4 crore as part of a money laundering investigation in a cyber fraud case in West Bengal where foreign citizens were duped through fake call centres. The federal agency said in a statement that it issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday to attach properties worth over Rs 5 crore of Kunal Gupta, owner of Met Technologies Pvt Ltd, and his associate Pawan Jaiswal who ran an international "cyber fraud" network. The attached properties include 37 horses belonging to KG Stud Farm LLP, valued at Rs 3.98 crore, and flats worth Rs 1.08 crore in Greenleaf Complex at Baguiati in Kolkata. "The attached 37 horses are stationed across race clubs and riding schools in India," the ED said. Under such an attachment involving animals, the ED imposes restriction on their sale and once the provisional order is confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority o

ED attaches assets in India, Dubai linked to Chinese entities in PMLA case

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has attached fresh assets in India and Dubai, including those belonging to some Chinese-linked shell companies, in its money laundering probe in the 'HPZ Token' case in which numerous investors were allegedly duped through an investment fraud. The properties are valued at Rs 106.20 crore, the federal agency said in a statement. It had attached assets in this case earlier too. The assets belong to various persons and companies, including Chinese-linked shell (paper companies) entities, which were found to be involved in duping investors for hundreds of crores of rupees on the pretext of doubling their investment through the app 'HPZ Token' and online gaming and betting websites, it said. A total of 299 entities, which includes 76 Chinese-controlled entities in which 10 directors are of Chinese origin while two entities are controlled by other foreign nationals, have been named as accused in the chargesheet filed by the ED in this case i

Enough evidence for PMLA case against Sachin Waze, others: Special court

A special court here, while rejecting dismissed policeman Sachin Waze's plea to turn approver in a money laundering case, has said the ED prima facie has sufficient evidence against him and other accused, and that there was no need for his help. By filing such an application, Waze admits to be "privy to the offence allegedly committed by the accused", special court judge A U Kadam hearing cases pertaining to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stated in the order passed on October 23. The other accused in the case, probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), includes former Maharashtra home minister and NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh. In the plea to turn approver (seek pardon) in the money laundering case, Waze had said that he wants to disclose all the facts pertaining to the case. His application was opposed by the ED, saying that prosecution under the PMLA is against the proceeds of crime with entirely different motives than the other prosecution agency. "Therefore, .

MUDA 'scam' investigation: ED summons six MUDA employees for questioning

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his family have come under increased scrutiny follows allegations of corruption and land misappropriation

ED conducts multi-city raids in Gujarat in money laundering, GST fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted multi-city searches in Gujarat in connection with a money laundering case linked to a GST "fraud" in which eight people, including a journalist, were arrested recently by the state police, official sources said. About 23 premises in cities of Rajkot, Junagadh, Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar and Veraval were being raided by the federal agency after a case was filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. Premises linked to arrested journalist Mahesh Langa, who works with The Hindu newspaper, were also being covered. The money laundering case stems from an FIR of the Ahmedabad Police Crime Branch. The city Crime Branch registered the FIR against several persons and entities after getting a complaint from the Central GST over an alleged scam involving shell firms set up to defraud the government through bogus input tax credits and fraudulent transactions. Langa along with seven others was arrested after the Central

ED arrests 2 directors of Delhi-based multi-national rice firm under PMLA

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has arrested two directors of a Delhi-based rice company under the anti-money laundering law in a bank-loan fraud case of Rs 1,200 crore involving a consortium of lenders led by the Canara Bank. Aparna Puri and Rahul Sood, also the key managerial persons of Amira Pure Foods Private Limited (APFPL), were taken into custody on October 8. A special court dealing with cases lodged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Delhi sent them to the ED's custody till October 11, the federal agency said in a statement. The money-laundering case stems from a 2020 FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against APFPL, Karan A Chanana, Radhika Chanana, Anita Daing, Aparna Puri, Rahul Sood and others for allegedly committing fraud, criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, cheating etc. and causing wrongful loss to the tune of Rs 1,201.85 crore to the consortium of banks. According to the ED, "key accuse

Vivo PMLA case: Patiala House Court grants bail to CA Rajan Malik

This case also involves other individuals, including Lava International's former Managing Director Hari Om Rai, Chinese national Guangwen (Andrew Kuang), and chartered accountant Nitin Garg