Note Seizure

Bank and demat account deposits apart from cash worth about Rs 37 crore has been seized by the ED as part of a money laundering probe against a Mumbai-based financial consultant and his company who are alleged to have duped investors of Rs 600 crore through a Ponzi scheme. The federal agency said on Sunday that the action was undertaken after carrying out raids in the metropolitan city on June 21 against Amber Dalal and his company Ritz Consultancy Services. The Enforcement Directorate case of money laundering stems from a Mumbai Police FIR that charged the Chartered Accountant and his company with taking money from investors through a "suspected Ponzi scheme that promised high returns." Dalal "absconded" with this money after giving initial returns. It has been gathered that Dalal raised more than Rs 600 crore from 1,300 investors, the ED said in a statement. He was arrested by the EOW, Mumbai Police and is presently under judicial custody, it said. Dalal raised money from invest

A division bench of the High Court of Karnataka on Friday heard an appeal filed by smartphone maker Xiaomi challenging a single-judge order which had upheld the Enforcement Directorate's seizure of Rs 5,551.27 crore from its bank accounts. The bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice M G S Kamal heard the arguments submitted by the counsel for the company before adjourning the hearing to January 20. The Court specified that there would be no further extensions and both the company's counsel and the government advocate were expected to complete their arguments on that date. The counsel for the company argued that the seizure was unnecessary and under Section 37A of FEMA even the necessity of suspicion is not required. Even the qualification of the "authorised officer" to take action was not prescribed. The court was told that Section 37A "seems to be clearly draconian", as for 30 days after the seizure the company has to only wait for the authority to decide on it. "Why

The trend has continued, with the seizures spiking significantly in the poll-bound Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh after the model code of conduct kicked in on October 9

Authorities recovered Rs 2,000 notes worth over Rs 2 lakh from two people