Page 8 - Scam

India's battle against scam epidemic: Govt, telcos tackle rising frauds

In this part of the year-end series, we unravel the web of tele-frauds and spams

Land-for-jobs case: ED summons to Tejashwi Yadav, asked to appear on Jan 5

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday issued a fresh summons to Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in a railway land-for-jobs scam case, asking him to appear on January 5, official sources said. He was earlier called to appear on December 22 but the 34-year-old skipped the summons. He had called the ED notice a routine affair. His father and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav has been asked to depose on December 27 in the case at the ED headquarters in Delhi. The alleged scam pertains to the period when Prasad was the railway minister in the UPA-1 government. It is alleged that from 2004 to 2009, several people were handed out Group "D" category jobs in various railway zones after they transferred land to the family members of then railway minister Prasad and a linked company named A K Infosystems Private Limited.

CBI carries out searches at 10 locations in WB in ECL coal pilferage case

The CBI on Thursday conducted searches at 10 locations in West Bengal in connection with an alleged multi-crore coal pilferage scam in the Eastern Coalfields Ltd mines in the state's Kunustoria and Kajora areas, officials said. The searches are taking place at multiple locations in Kolkata and other cities as part of further investigation into the case, they said. The agency had charge-sheeted alleged mastermind Anup Manjhi alias Lala along with 40 others in July last year in connection with the case. The CBI registered an FIR in November 2020 against Manjhi, ECL general managers Amit Kumar Dhar and Jayesh Chandra Rai, ECL security chief Tanmay Das, Kunustoria area security inspector Dhananjay Rai and Kajor area security in-charge Debashish Mukherjee. "They (accused) fraudulently misappropriated coal from the coal reserve of leasehold areas under the dominion of ECL and also from the coal stock parked in the railway sidings for sale and supply," a CBI spokesperson had said on July

Fraudsters swiped millions of dollars by faking product refunds: Amazon

The lawsuit lists more than a dozen transactions from June 2022 to May 2023 as leading to fraudulent refunds. Items purchased include gaming consoles, smartphones, laptops

Hedge fund trader Sanjay Shah extradited to Denmark a year after arrest

Shah was taken into custody by police on his arrival in Copenhagen on Wednesday, and will be taken to court for a bail hearing on Thursday morning, Danish police said in a statement

BJP alleges scam in sewage plant projects, demands Kejriwal's resignation

The BJP on Monday alleged a scam in the tendering process for upgrading sewage treatment plants operated by the Delhi Jal Board and demanded that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tender his resignation immediately. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia claimed the Delhi Jal Board invited bids for upgradation of five sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the city and for upgradation and augmentation of another five to increase their capacity. While the estimated cost of the projects was around Rs 1,500 crore, they were awarded to the contractors at an increased rate of Rs 1,938 crore, Bhatia claimed. "Bids were invited and tenders were awarded only after cartelisation to ensure that no honest contractor gets the project.... This is worrisome, Arvind Kejriwal you have committed one more scam," the BJP spokesperson charged. "Look at Arvind Kejriwal's mechanism. The L1 (lowest) bid was at Rs 392 crore but the contract was awarde

Suvendu Adhikari alleges scam in purchase of PPE kits; demand probe

The Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Saturday wrote to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), alleging a scam in the purchase of PPE kits and other medical equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.Taking to his official handle on social media platform X, Adhikari shared a detailed post informing that he had written to the director, ED, principal director general of the Income Tax Department and secretary, Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, seeking an inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits."A huge financial scam was executed in WB during the Covid Pandemic period, with regard to the purchase of PPE kits and other medical equipment by the WB Health Department. Huge funds were provided by the Central Govt at that time to bolster the efforts to fight against the virus collectively," Adhikari posted from his official X handle."I have written a letter to the Director; .

MHI orders probe to investigate role of govt officials in FAME scam

The action comes several months after the ministry instructed 13 companies to reimburse improperly claimed subsidies

Andhra HC grants bail to Chandrababu Naidu in Skill Development scam case

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday granted regular bail to TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu in the Skill Development Corporation scam case. The court converted Naidu's four-week interim medical bail into absolute bail and ordered the former chief minister's release on regular bail. "The interim bail granted to A37 (Naidu) dated October 31 is made absolute, and the petitioner (Naidu) is ordered to be released on regular bail on the bail bond already furnished by him," the court said in its order. However, the interim bail conditions such as refraining from making any public comments related to the Skill Development Corporation scam case or organising or participating in public rallies and meetings will continue to be in force till November 28. The High Court said these conditions will be relaxed from November 29. Further, the court directed Naidu to produce his medical reports to the Special Court in Vijayawada on or before November 28 instead of submitting them to the Superinten

Delhi surgery scam: Pharmacist who referred patients to clinic arrested

The Delhi Police has arrested a 42-year-old pharmacist for his alleged involvement in death of of a patient during surgery in a clinic in south Delhi's Greater Kailash, officials said on Sunday. The pharmacist used to refer patient to the clinic where two patients recently died during surgery. The police have arrested four persons, including a quack, in the case. Neeraj Agarwal, who runs the Agarwal Medical Centre, Jaspreet Singh (both MBBS doctors), Agarwal's wife Pooja and former laboratory technician Mahender Singh were arrested on November 14 and produced in a court on November 16, which sent them to five-day police custody. The latest development in the case came on Sunday with the arrest of Julfiqar who runs a pharmacy shop in the Sangam Vihar area, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Chandan Choudhary said. Julfiqar sells homeopathy and allopathy medicines and has done a course in D.Pharma. He used to refer patients who came to his shop with ailments such as kidney stones,

How a racket of fake doctor, technician unfolded in Delhi: All details here

The doctors also used to allow 'other inexperienced people' to perform surgeries in lieu of small payments, police claimed

Cognitive tools for thwarting scams

In an era where we constantly fear being swindled, a book that delves into the psychology of deception and offers guidance on steering clear of fraud becomes essential reading

SC defers hearing on ex-Andhra CM Naidu's bail plea in FibreNet case

The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned to November 30 the hearing on TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu's plea seeking anticipatory bail in the FibreNet case. A bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi deferred the matter, saying that the judgement in another petition filed by Naidu seeking quashing of plea in the skill development scam case is likely to be delivered after the court's Diwali vacation. "There is another petition by the same petitioner which has certain overlapping issues in which judgement has been reserved by this bench. Let the matter be listed for hearing on November 30," the bench said. During the brief hearing, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Naidu, said the initial arrangement that the police would not arrest Naidu should continue. Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the Andhra Pradesh government, said the arrangement is continuing. The top court had earlier asked the Andhra Pradesh Police not to arrest Naidu in the FibreNet cas

Explained | Mahadev betting app row

The Mahadev betting app case is back in news, following the Centres's move to shut down 22 illegal online gambling platforms, including the notorious Mahadev app. Watch the video to know more

Over 300 crypto fraud complaints received, will take action: Himachal Dy-CM

More than 300 complaints have been received from across Himachal Pradesh in connection with a multi-crore cryptocurrency ponzi scam, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said, referring to the fraud that began in the state in 2018. He had presided over a meeting on Friday to review the action being taken against the perpetrators, who cheated people by promising them high profits on investments within a short span of time, an official statement said. People should guard themselves from falling prey to such ponzi schemes and cryptocurrency frauds, Agnihotri said. "I am observing that complaints have been pouring in from various districts of the state wherein people have been cheated by the kingpin of the cryptocurrency fraud," he said, according to the statement issued on Saturday. He added that more than 300 complaints have been received by the police till date. Ten culprits from Mandi and two from Una have been arrested so far in connection with the case, Agnihotri said. Subhash

SIT conducts searches at 41 locations in Himachal in cryptocurrency scam

The SIT probing the alleged multi-crore cryptocurrency scam conducted searches at 41 different locations in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday and arrested one of the main accused Abhishek Sharma, who was evading arrest, police said on Sunday. Abhishek, a resident of Una district was one of the main four accused in the scam that started in 2018 when the alleged fraudsters approached people with an investment plan related to a locally made (Mandi district) cryptocurrency known as "Korvio Coin" or KRO coin, police said. Earlier, two main accused Sukhdev and Hemraj were held in Gujarat, and during investigations, the duo confessed they have outstanding liabilities of Rs 400 crore. The alleged kingpin of the scam, Subash, is still at large and is reportedly hiding in Dubai. Abhishek was apprehended by the SIT and produced in a court, which remanded him to five-day police custody, a statement issued by the police said. Searches were conducted at 25 places in Hamirpur, seven in Kangra, four in .

Kerala LIFE mission case: ED attaches assets worth over Rs 5 crore

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached assets worth more than Rs 5 crore in connection with its ongoing money laundering probe into an alleged scam in Kerala's LIFE Mission, which was meant for providing homes to flood victims. The properties attached include residential premises in the name of Santhosh Eappen and immovable property and bank balances in the name of Swapna Suresh, the federal agency said in a statement. The total value of these properties is Rs 5.38 crore, it said. It alleged that a conspiracy was hatched by Sarith PS and Swapna Suresh, former employees of the UAE consulate, with "active support" of M Sivasankar, a former principal secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and Sandeep Nair and others. This was done, the ED said, to "generate commission as bribe" from the funds donated by Red Crescent by awarding the LIFE Mission project to Unitac Builders and Developers and Sane Ventures LLP run by Santhosh Eappen "without following ..

Mahadev betting app case accused held at airport, handed over to Raj cops

A key accused in the Mahadev betting app case, Mrugank Mishra, was detained at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai by security personnel on his arrival from Dubai, an official said on Monday. Mishra is accused of helping Mahadev betting app promoters open hundreds of dubious bank accounts to divert money generated by the scam. His custody was later taken by a police team from Rajasthan, where he faces a cheating and forgery case related to the Mahadev app matter, the official said. The 25-year-old was apprehended by security personnel at the airport after his arrival from Dubai on Saturday and handed over to the Sahar police in Mumbai. A team of the Pratapgarh police in Rajasthan came to Mumbai on Sunday and took his custody and placed him under arrest, he said. Mishra is wanted in connection with a cheating and forgery case registered at the Pratapgarh police station related to the Mahadev betting app case and a look out circular (LOC) was issued against

Cannot keep Sisodia in jail in excise policy cases indefinitely: SC to CBI

The Supreme Court told the CBI and ED on Monday they cannot keep former deputy chief minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia in jail for an "indefinite period" in the Delhi excise policy cases. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti asked Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the two probe agencies, when will the arguments on charges against Sisodia commence in the trial court. "You cannot keep him behind (bars) for an indefinite period. You cannot keep him behind like this. Once a chargesheet is filed in a case, arguments on charge should commence immediately," the bench told Raju. Raju told the bench the cases against Sisodia are at the stage of section 207 of CrPC (supply of documents to the accused) and after that the arguments on charge will commence. "Why have the arguments on charge not yet commenced and when will they commence? Tell us by tomorrow (Tuesday)," Justice Khanna told Raju. The top court was hearing the bail pleas of Sisodia, who was arres

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