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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 ..
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 ...
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
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
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 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
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
The Supreme Court on Thursday gave bail to Chhattisgarh-based businessman Sunil Dammani, arrested by the ED in August last year in a money laundering case linked to the Mahadev illegal gambling app, and said it was doing so without getting into the merit of the allegations. A bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra noted that Dammani has been in custody since August 23, 2023 and set aside the Chhattisgarh High Court order denying him bail. "Without saying anything on merits, we are of the view that the appellant may be released on bail subject to bail conditions. "Appellant is ordered to be released on bail if not required in any other investigation, subject to the condition that he shall mark his presence every 15 days at the ED office in the concerned district. The appellant shall not leave the country without prior permission of the trial court," the bench said. As the hearing commenced, Dammani's counsel, senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, told the court that the ...
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..
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it has attached fresh assets worth Rs 29.75 crore of fugitive diamond trader Nirav Modi under the anti-money laundering law. A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach these assets that are in the form of bank deposits, land, and buildings, it said in a statement. The agency, which has been probing Modi in the alleged USD 2 billion fraud against the Punjab National Bank for over five years now, has attached assets worth Rs 2,596 crore in India and abroad in the past. Modi, 53, is presently lodged in a UK jail and has lost his extradition plea to India in connection with this alleged bank loan fraud case, which is also being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, both prime accused in the case, along with others are being probed by the ED on money laundering charges for allegedly perpetrating fraud in connivance with bank officials and b
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday the bail plea of former Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last year in connection with a money laundering case. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih is scheduled to hear Balaji's plea challenging the February 28 order of the Madras High Court dismissing his second bail petition in the case. The high court, while dismissing the bail petition, said that if he is let out on bail in a case of this nature, it will send a wrong signal and it will be against larger public interest. It said the petitioner has suffered incarceration for more than eight months and therefore, it will be more appropriate to direct the special court to dispose of the case within a time frame. "Accordingly, there shall be a direction to the Principal Special Court, Chennai, to dispose of the case within a period of three months from the date of receipt of copy of this order," it had ...