PMLA

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, .

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has imposed a fine of Rs 54 lakh on the Union Bank of India for "failing" to report suspicious transaction reports and for not undertaking due diligence under the anti-money laundering law for certain accounts at one of its branches in Mumbai. The federal agency issued the penalty notice under section 13 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on October 1 as it observed that the charges against the lender were "substantiated" after it considered written and oral submissions made by the Bank. The investigation started, pursuant to an observation by the FIU, and a "comprehensive review" of the Bank's operations was undertaken, which uncovered certain "irregularities" related to KYC/AML (know your customer/anti-money laundering laundering) compliance. "An independent examination of specific current accounts maintained at Union Bank of India, Hill Road Branch, Mumbai, revealed that the accounts of an NBFC (non-banking financial company) an

The Supreme Court on Thursday said constitutional courts cannot allow provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act to become instruments in the hands of the Enforcement Directorate to continue incarceration for a long time. The top court said when the trial of the complaint under PMLA is likely to prolong beyond reasonable limits, the constitutional courts will have to consider exercising their powers to grant bail. "The reason is that section 45(1)(ii) (of PMLA) does not confer power on the State to detain an accused for an unreasonably long time, especially when there is no possibility of trial concluding within a reasonable time. "What a reasonable time is will depend on the provisions under which the accused is being tried and other factors. One of the most relevant factors is the duration of the minimum and maximum sentence for the offence," a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih said. The observations of the apex court came while granting bail to forme

India on Thursday said it will adopt a "nuanced" approach to deal with "at risk" non-profit organisations (NPOs), an issue raised by the global crime watchdog FATF in its report which has otherwise appreciated India for its efforts to tackle terror financing and money laundering. Additional Secretary (Revenue), Finance Ministry, Vivek Agarwal said India has excelled on 6 'immediate outcomes' of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), including in risk, policy and coordination, international cooperation, financial intelligence, confiscation and proliferation financing. On the five other parameters, including abuse of NPOs and terror financing sanctions, as well as prosecution of money laundering and terror financing cases India has got a medium rating. As regards the abuse of NPOs for terror financing, Agarwal said the scope for NPOs being misused is very less in India because there is a cap on cash donations. "We were trying to make a case that regulatory framework is good enough..

Global anti-money laundering and terror financing body FATF on Thursday launched its much-awaited mutual evaluation report on India, saying the county's systems were "effective" but "major improvements" were required to strengthen prosecution in these cases. The 368-page report was released after the assessment was adopted by the Paris-headquartered body at its June plenary meeting. The last such review of India's combating of money laundering and terror financing regime was published in 2010. The report, which comes after an on-site visit of FATF experts to India last November, has placed the country in the "regular follow up" category, a distinction shared by only four other G20 countries. India will undergo its next evaluation in 2031. The report said India implemented such an anti-money laundering (AML) and combating financing of terror (CFT) system that was effective in many respects. It, however, said "major improvements" were required to strengthen the prosecution in money

In addition to expediting the completion of investigations, the Enforcement Directorate will now prioritise restitution of assets

A bench of justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan adjourned the matter for September 18. The matter was adjourned as one of the judges of the three-judge bench was not sitting today

The court was hearing the review petition challenging of top court's judgement upholding the provision of PMLA

The top court has upheld the stringent provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) while emphasising the need for careful judicial scrutiny to protect the rights of those accused

The Supreme Court reaffirmed that bail should be the norm even under stringent laws like the PMLA and UAPA, stressing that individual liberty remains paramount

The Enforcement Directorate has filed a money laundering case to probe alleged financial irregularities at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital during the tenure of its former principal Sandip Ghosh and some others, official sources said Tuesday. The federal agency has taken cognisance of a CBI FIR to file its Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), equivalent to an FIR, under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency, according to the sources, has gathered banking and medical procurement documents related to this hospital and medical college from "various sources" and it may soon issue summons to the accused for questioning and recording of their statements, the sources said. The accused in the ED case are the same who have been named in the CBI complaint, they said. In its FIR registered on the directions of the Calcutta High Court, the CBI has booked Ghosh and three Kolkata-based private entities -- Ma Tara Traders of Madhya Jhorehat, .

Arora had filed a regular bail application seeking relief under the provison to Section 45 of the PMLA as his bail is set to expire on August 21

The move follows searches conducted by the agency last month at around 35 locations in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Nagpur as part of its money laundering probe

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday recorded the statement of two television actors here as part of a money laundering investigation linked to the operations of an "illegal" online forex trading platform that is alleged to have duped investors to the tune of Rs 500 crore, official sources said. The sources said actors Krystel Dsouza and Karan Wahi were called for questioning in order to elicit information about some payments being made for promotions of the app named OctaFx which also had a website -- www.octafx.com. The statements of the two have been recorded as the ED is investigating this case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. Another TV actor and model Nia Sharma has also been summoned, the sources said. It is understood that the agency wants to understand the operations of the platform and these actors may not be seen as wrongdoers or accused. The money laundering case of the ED stems from a Pune Police (Shivaji Nagar poli

A Delhi court on Tuesday reserved for June 4 its order on whether to take cognisance of a supplementary charge sheet filed by the ED against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam wherein it has claimed bribes were received even from Punjab businessmen to allow them to invest in liquor trade in the national capital. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has claimed those businessmen from Punjab, also ruled by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who did not pay up, were forced out of their ventures in the neighbouring state. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja reserved the order after hearing the arguments advanced by the ED, which claimed it has sufficient evidence to prosecute Kejriwal in the case. The ED has also named AAP as an accused in the charge sheet, the first political party to be booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The federal anti-money laundering agency told the court that Kejriwal, the national convenor of AAP,

A special PMLA court in Ranchi on Monday extended Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam's remand with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for three more days in connection with an alleged money laundering case, his legal representatives said. Alam had been taken into custody by the ED on May 15 following two days of interrogation at the agency's office. Initially remanded for six days by the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court starting May 17, his remand was subsequently extended for five days on May 22. Alam's lawyer, Kishlay Prasad, said that the ED prayed for a three-day extension of remand for further inquiry, which was granted by the court. "The ED indicated the necessity for additional inquiries and the requirement for details regarding immovable properties," Prasad elaborated. Alam, who serves as the state parliamentary affairs minister and represents the Pakur seat in the Jharkhand Assembly, is under investigation for alleged irregularities and bribery in the state rural

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday arrested Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam's personal secretary Sanjiv Lal and the latter's domestic help following a recovery of over Rs 32 crore cash from them, official sources said. The duo have been taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following their overnight questioning, the sources said. The ED on Monday had raided a 2BHK flat in the city that is allegedly occupied by Lal's domestic help Jehangir, as part of a money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the state rural development department, they said. It had recovered over Rs 32 crore cash apart from Rs 3 crore from some other premises that were searched by the central agency. The total cash recovery stands at Rs 35.23 crore, the sources said. Jharkhand rural development minister and Congress leader Alam had denied any wrongdoing on his part.

A fresh set of 'alert indicators' have been issued by India's financial intelligence unit (FIU) for capital markets, insurance companies, online payment gateway intermediaries and crypto currency service providers for effective checking of suspicious transactions in their channels as part of the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime. These new guidelines have been issued under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) during the 2022-23 financial year and published in a recently released report that has been accessed by PTI. This is part of the anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regime followed by the country as part of which financial institutions and intermediaries are mandated to share suspicious transaction reports (STRs) with the FIU which subsequently analyses them and shares them for action with various investigative and intelligence agencies. FIU proactively engages with the financial sector

A special PMLA court on Tuesday granted one more week to the Enforcement Directorate to reply to the bail petition of former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren. The court also fixed May 1 as the next date of hearing in the matter. Soren was arrested by the ED on January 31 in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He is at present in judicial custody and lodged at the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi. The ED had sought another two weeks to file a reply to Soren's bail petition, which was opposed by the former CM's cousels, who claimed that the probe agency wanted to deliberately delay the bail so that he could not come out of jail and campaign. Soren was represented virtually by senior lawyers Kapil Sibal and Arunabh Chowdhury. The PMLA court granted only one week to the ED and directed no further adjournments. Soren had on April 16 moved a bail petition before the special court, alleging that his arrest by the ED was politically motivated, a

The authority said in its order that it believes that the movable assets and equity shares that were attached by the ED are proceeds of crime and linked to the offence of money laundering