Page 3 - Pmla

Time for courts to wake up to blatant misuse of PMLA: Sibal on ED summon

It is time for courts to wake up to the blatant misuse of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal said on Wednesday, days after the Enforcement Directorate summoned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for questioning. The probe agency was targeting leaders of almost all opposition parties, he alleged, adding that the ED and denial of bail to leaders has become a "political weapon" in the hands of the government. Kejriwal has been issued the summons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and according to sources, the ED will record his statement in an excise policy-related case once he deposes at the probe agency's Delhi office at 11 am on November 2. Sibal, a prominent opposition voice and a senior advocate, in a post on X, said, "Kejriwal summoned by ED. ED targeting leaders of almost all political parties in opposition." "ED and denial of bail to leaders has become a political weapon in the hands of the government. Time for courts to wake

SC sets Nov 22 to hear review petition challenging various PMLA provisions

The top court has clarified that would be addressing issues only related to PMLA on certain parameters

Vivo PMLA case: Court sends Lava MD, Chinese national to judicial custody

A court here on Wednesday sent Lava International MD Hari Om Rai and Chinese national Guangwen Kuang to judicial custody till October 30 in a money laundering case against Chinese smartphone maker Vivo. Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala, however, extended by two days the custodial interrogation of co-accused Nitin Garg. The court passed the order on an application moved by the Enforcement Directorate. The three accused were produced before the court on completion of their ED custody granted earlier. They were arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The smartphone company has denied the allegations. Vivo has constantly denied the allegations. We will pursue necessary and appropriate legal recourse, a company representative said in a statement. The ED had raided the Chinese company and individuals linked to it in July last year, claiming to have busted a major money laundering racket involving Chinese nationals and multiple Ind

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Partners with 10% stake to come under beneficial owners: Sebi tweaks rules

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Friday tweaked guidelines pertaining to anti-money laundering standards, whereby partners holding a 10 per cent stake in a firm will come under the definition of beneficial owners. Earlier, the requirement was 15 per cent. The development comes after the government amended the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules or PMLA rules in September. In case the client is a partnership firm, the beneficial owner would be the one who has "ownership of/ entitlement to more than 10 per cent of capital or profits of the partnership or who exercises control through other means", Sebi said in its updated guidelines on anti-money laundering standards and combating the financing of terrorism obligations of securities market intermediaries. To ensure that the registered intermediaries properly discharge their legal obligations to report suspicious transactions to the authorities, the regulator said that the Principal Officer would be responsi

FinMin tightens PMLA rules, brings partners with 10% stake under purview

The finance ministry has tightened the anti-money laundering rules by bringing in partners holding 10 per cent stake in a firm, as against 15 per cent earlier, under the definition of beneficial owners. The ministry has amended the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, which also provides for management-level functionary as 'Principal Officer' responsible for providing information to the financial intelligence unit. The amendment also said that in the case of a trust, the reporting entity shall ensure that trustees disclose their status at the time of commencement of an account-based relationship or when carrying out specified transactions. The government has in recent months tightened various anti-money laundering provisions ahead of assessment by the global watchdog on terror financing and money laundering Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The agency is scheduled to conduct an assessment of the implementation of anti-money laundering and ...

ED attaches FDs of Sree Venkateshwara Industries under PMLA violations

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has attached fixed deposits worth Rs 90 lakh of a Hyderabad-based company in a money laundering case against it linked to alleged dumping of hazardous waste in violation of anti-pollution laws. The action has been taken against the company, Sree Venkateshwara Industries, under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), it said in a statement. The money laundering case of the ED stems from a complaint filed by the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) before the court of Metropolitan Magistrate, Cyberabad at Medchal. It was alleged by the board that the company was disposing "hazardous waste material without proper treatment in violation of the prescribed rules and regulations stipulated by the TSPCB under various sections of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act." Sree Venkateshwara Industries and its partners "did not" comply

Delhi HC seeks govt's stand on plea against inclusion of CAs under PMLA

The Delhi High Court on Monday sought the Centre's stand on a petition challenging the inclusion of chartered accountants, company secretaries and cost accountants within the ambit of reporting entities under the anti-money laundering law. A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma granted time to the Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma to seek instructions on the petition by Rajat Mohan, a practising chartered accountant (CA). The court, while listing the case for further hearing on October 4, noted that at this stage, the petitioner was not extending his challenge to the legality of certain provisions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act with respect to the consequent liabilities imposed upon the professionals. Observing that CAs were the experts in the field of accounting and the enhanced due diligence was with respect to specified transactions only, the bench -- also comprising Justice Sanjeev Narula-- asked the petitioner to state the problem with the

SC criticises seeking bail under guise of challenging validity of PMLA

The Supreme Court on Tuesday deprecated the trend of the accused in money laundering cases using Article 32 petitions to challenge a summons or seek bail under the guise of calling into question the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). A vacation bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Prashant Kumar Mishra, said filing such petitions challenging an Act, and in the process seeking consequential reliefs, amounts to bypassing other available legal remedies. "The court is constrained to observe that despite the Vijay Madanlal judgment there is a trend prevailing in writ petitions filed before this Court under Article 32 challenging the constitutional validity of Sections 15 and 63 and other provisions of the PMLA, which has been decided finally, and then seek consequential relief. These reliefs are bypassing other forums which are open to the petitioners," the bench said. The apex court had in the Madanlal judgement upheld the Enforcement Directorate's powers relat

How much gold can you legally buy in cash without any ID proof in India?

The Centre has tightened the restrictions governing the purchase of gold with cash by placing the gems and jewellery sector within the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002

Supreme Court makes a key clarification on grounds for bail under PMLA

The top court made these observations while considering an appeal by the Enforcement Directorate against the Telangana High Court orders

CA, company secys fret over increased compliance burden under new PMLA

Transactions carried out by practising CAs, CSes, and CMAs on behalf of their clients under the scope of PMLA

Extending liability

New PMLA rules will help curb black money

CAs, CSes concerned about new tweaks in anti-money laundering law

A major concern for the professionals is that if their clients are up to some mischief behind their backs, they would also be charged under the PMLA

Top headlines: Double digit growth for Apple India, new PMLA rules & more

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CA, CS handling client money in PMLA ambit; FinMin notifies rules

Aim is to curb fraudulent practices

'Unbridled' powers to ED: Chhattisgarh govt moves SC against PMLA

It has requested the Supreme Court to intervene using its powers granted by the Constitution's Article 131 which allows it to decide on inter-state or Centre-state disputes

PNB scam: PMLA court grants bail to Nirav Modi's close aide 'Subash Parab'

A special PMLA court here on Tuesday granted bail to Subash Parab, a close aide of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi, in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case. Parab was a deputy general manager (finance) at Firestar Diamond, a firm owned by Modi, and was deported to India from Cairo in Egypt in April 2022. Special PMLA judge S M Menjonge allowed the Parab's bail plea, citing that it appeared from the bail application that the accused was not beneficiary of the proceeds of crime. Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi are accused of duping PNB, a public sector bank, of Rs 13,000 crore using letters of undertaking (LoUs) and foreign letters of credit (FLCs) by bribing its officials at the Brady House branch in Mumbai. Parab is understood to be a key witness to the letters of undertaking submitted to the bank to siphon off more than Rs 7,000 crore. India had issued an Interpol Red Notice against Parab to track him down and bring him back. In February, he was granted bail

ED arrested 374 people in 5 years, directors of companies among them: Govt

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested 374 people, including directors of corporate firms, in the last five years under the anti-money laundering law, the government informed Parliament on Monday. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, said that in major cases of "corporate fraud" like those against the Sterling Biotech group, a Vadodara-based company promoted by the Sandesara brothers, Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, the ED has attached properties worth Rs 33,862.20 crore. The ED is a federal probe agency entrusted to implement the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). "Out of these, assets worth Rs 15,113.02 crore have been confiscated and restituted to the public sector banks." "Further, the consortium of banks led by SBI has realised Rs 7,975.27 crore by sale of assets handed over to them by the Directorate of Enforcement," the minister stated. He was responding to a questio

1,064 prosecution complaints pending for completion of trial under PMLA

The government also clarified that all the posts of the chairperson and other members of the Appellate Authority under the PMLA are filled-up