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Tag: money-laundering

  • Heavy barricading in central Delhi forward of Rahul’s look earlier than ED 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: All roads resulting in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) workplace in central Delhi have been barricaded by the police after it denied permission to a protest march by supporters of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, who is ready to seem earlier than the federal company on Monday.

    The Delhi Police has imposed provisions of Section 144 CrPC to ban meeting and entry of individuals on roads resulting in the ED headquarters in Paryavaran Bhawan on A P J Abdul Kalam Road.

    Gandhi, 51, is predicted to maneuver from the Congress get together headquarters at 24, Akbar Road to the ED workplace, a distance of about 2 km, to depose earlier than the company at 11 AM for questioning and recording of an announcement within the National Herald cash laundering case.

    A heavy posse of Delhi Police and central paramilitary personnel have been deployed all alongside the roads and bylanes of central Delhi. 

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    A Delhi Police official stated the preparations have been made to make sure that the regulation and order is maintained within the space.

  • Jharkhand cash laundering probe: ED will get one other 5-day to grill IAS officer Pooja Singhal

    Express News Service

    RANCHI: Remand of IAS workplace Pooja Singhal, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in cash laundering case, has been prolonged for an additional 5 days. Producing Singhal within the Court, ED’s Counsel knowledgeable that she has been complaining of giddiness fairly steadily, attributable to which they’re dealing with issues in interrogation, and therefore, wants one other 6 days for quizzing her.

    Besides offering medical amenities to the IAS officer, EDs Counsel knowledgeable Court, in addition they have to rearrange some medical checks throughout interrogation which kills a lot time. On the requests made by ED, the court docket prolonged her remand for one other 5 days.

    “We pleaded before the court that they are trying to get information related to the digital devices, documents, and sources of income, which has not been completed. In addition to that, the court was also told that Singhal is being interrogated in front of the District Mining Officers (DMO), for which, we need
    some more time,” stated ED’s Counsel BMP Singh. Citing all these grounds, ED demanded a 6-day remand for Pooja Singhal however was granted just for 5-days, he added.

    CA Suman Kumar, nonetheless, has been despatched to jail, stated Singh. The Enforcement Directorate, after interrogation for over 15 hours, had arrested mining secretary Pooja Singhal on May 11 in a cash laundering case linked to alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds and different costs whereas Chartered
    accountant Suman Kumar, related to Singhal, had already been arrested three days again. A day after her arrest, the State Government suspended Singhal on May 12. 

    The 2000-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer has been taken into ED custody beneath the related sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Singhal was arrested on the second day of the questioning being executed by the ED officers after her replies to the questions requested by ED throughout
    questioning weren’t passable and her replies had been evasive.

    According to ED, Rs 1.43 crore greater than the recognized sources of her revenue had been recovered from the financial institution accounts of Pooja Singhal whereas she was Deputy Commissioner in Khunti, Palamu and Chatra. The ED additionally claimed that Singhal bought as many as 13 insurance coverage insurance policies by paying a premium of Rs 80.81 lakh and closed them earlier than completion of their tenure and received Rs 84.64 lakh in opposition to it.

    Notably, the ED on May 6 performed raids at a number of areas, together with that of Pooja Singhal, in reference to a cash laundering case linked to alleged embezzlement of over Rs 18 crore MGNREGA funds in Khunti district throughout 2008-2011. The raids had been performed at a complete of 18 areas together with Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, NCR in addition to Ranchi, Khunti and Dhanbad in Jharkhand.

  • Indian-origin accountant jailed five-and-a-half years in UK for fraud, cash laundering

    An Indian-origin chartered accountant (CA) has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years of imprisonment by a UK court docket after being convicted for exploiting a weak sufferer out of cash and property price 331,858 kilos.

    Sukhvinder Singh, 73, was sentenced on 4 counts of fraud and one depend of cash laundering at York Crown Court in north-east England on Thursday. The court docket heard that the sufferer, recognized solely as ‘A’, has studying, social, and bodily disabilities and was focused and duped by Singh.

    “Singh put himself forward as a trusted friend and professional financial adviser for an individual with considerable vulnerabilities. His actions, in diverting money and property for his own personal gain, was a huge breach of trust, and failed to support and protect the victim,” mentioned Andrea Thomas, a Senior Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Serious Economic Organised and International Directorate (SEOCID).

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    “He may have obtained further assets from the victim but for the work of North Yorkshire police who helped to build a strong and compelling case. The conviction and sentence follow close team working between the CPS and police and results in justice for the victim. The CPS will be seeking to start proceedings on getting back Singh’s ill-gotten gains,” he mentioned.

    An investigation by the North Yorkshire Police power found that when A’s dad and mom had died, Singh had provided to type out the monetary affairs. However, the CA as a substitute took 34,000 kilos from the sufferer’s checking account and paid into his personal in September 2016. In the identical month, Singh transferred the possession of A’s dwelling within the city of Harrogate, valued at round 275,000 kilos to certainly one of his personal firms. No cash was paid again to A, in return.

    Singh created quite a lot of paperwork on his pc, together with agreements and letters, to facilitate the fraud. Some of the paperwork claimed to be from A and people with duty for A’s affairs, agreeing to switch them to Singh, the CPS revealed.

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    At the time of Singh’s arrest, the CPS mentioned that proof was seized that exposed he was making an attempt to acquire additional property belonging to A, together with an house in Spain (price over 62,000 kilos) and round 5,000 kilos held in a checking account in Jersey.

    The CPS mentioned it’s dedicated to persevering with to work intently with regulation enforcement and investigatory authorities to convey such people participating in fraudulent practices to justice.

    Its SEOCID unit is comparatively new, having been launched in April 2022 as a response to the altering nature of crime by bringing collectively specialists in organised and financial crime.

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  • Jharkhand authorities suspends mining secretary Pooja Singhal publish her arrest

    By Express News Service

    RANCHI: A day after Enforcement Directorate arrested mining secretary Pooja Singhal; Jharkhand Government suspended her on Thursday from rapid impact. The ED, after an interrogation for over 15 hours, arrested Singhal in cash laundering case linked to alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds and different costs.

    Meanwhile, after being taken in remand on Thursday, she was once more taken to zonal ED headquarter in Ranchi for interrogation.

    The 2000-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer was taken into ED custody underneath the related sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Sources within the State Government additionally knowledgeable that the method of her suspension has already been began and a choice could also be taken on this regard throughout the subsequent few hours.

    Singhal was arrested on second day of the questioning being achieved by the ED officers. She was formally arrested round 4.30 PM on Wednesday, an hour after her husband Abhishek Jha arrived there after being summoned by ED officers.

    According to the knowledge supplied to the courtroom by ED earlier after arresting of CA Suman Kumar, Rs 1.43 crore greater than the recognized sources of her revenue had been recovered from the financial institution accounts of Pooja Singhal whereas she was Deputy Commissioner in Khunti, Palamu and Chatra. 

    The ED additionally claimed that Singhal bought as many as 13 insurance coverage insurance policies by paying a premium of Rs 80.81 lakh and closed them earlier than completion of their tenure and received Rs 84.64 lakh towards it.

    The ED additionally knowledgeable that Singhal transferred Rs 16.57 lakh to the three financial institution accounts associated to CA Suman Kumar.  The ED is claimed to have gathered adequate main proof to recommend that she is in shut reference to CA Sunman Kumar and had monetary transactions with him.

    Notably, the ED on Friday performed raids at a number of areas, together with that of Pooja Singhal, in reference to a cash laundering case linked to alleged embezzlement of over Rs 18 crore MGNREGA funds in Khunti district throughout 2008-2011. The raids had been performed at a complete of 18 areas together with Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, NCR in addition to Ranchi, Khunti and Dhanbad in Jharkhand.

    Singhal, as Chatra Deputy Commissioner, has been accused of paying Rs 6 crore prematurely to the 2 NGOs – Welfare Point and Prerna Niketan for musli farming, which, truly was by no means achieved. In addition to that, whereas being Deputy Commissioner in Palamu, she was charged of transferring 83 acres of forest land to a personal firm for mining, a matter which is expounded to Kathautia Coal Mines.

  • SC rejects bail plea of Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik in cash laundering case

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain the petition filed by Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik difficult his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate underneath the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2005.

    Senior advocate Kapil Sibal showing for Malik stated that the Arnab Goswami case order is in his favour. He questioned the applicability of PMLA within the case. 

    “There is no predicate offence here,” he stated.

    “We are not inclined to exercise jurisdiction under Article 136 when the investigation is at the nascent stage…You can apply for bail before an appropriate court”, the highest court docket stated.

    The probe company had arrested the state minister on February 23 in a probe linked to a cash laundering case over an alleged land deal regarding an aide of worldwide terrorist Dawood Ibrahim. He has been underneath custody ever since his arrest. 

    The particular depart petition was filed difficult a Bombay High court docket that had refused to grant him interim launch.

    “What we prima facie feel is that projection/claiming a property as untainted property is the objectionable act forming part of an offence under Section 3 of the Act of 2002… We have not gone into the papers of investigation…Considering all the above-referred grounds; we are not inclined to allow the prayers in the said applications. Resultantly, Interim Applications are rejected,” the Bombay excessive court docket had stated in an order dated March 15, 2022, whereas rejecting the pleas.

    The excessive court docket had stated that the case failed the dual check for launch from custody.

    “…In the present case, there is no dispute on the factual aspect that custody order is passed by the competent Court of jurisdiction i.e., the Special Court and secondly, merely because the order is against the Petitioner it cannot be termed as patently illegal or suffers from non-application of mind. In our opinion, this twin test is duly applied in the present matter…,” the excessive court docket added in its order.
     

  • SC agrees to record for listening to Nawab Malik’s plea looking for launch from jail 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to think about itemizing for listening to Maharashtra minister and NCP chief Nawab Malik’s plea looking for speedy launch from jail in a cash laundering case.

    A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana requested senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, showing for the jailed chief who sought pressing itemizing of his plea, to supply paperwork.

    “Please give the papers,” mentioned the bench, which additionally comprised Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli.

    The Prevention of Money Laundering Act got here into being in 2005 and the minister has been accused underneath the statute for the alleged offences dedicated previous to 2000, Sibal mentioned.

    Malik was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate over a property deal allegedly linked to the aides of gangster Dawood Ibrahim.

    Soon after his arrest, the minister had filed a habeas corpus plea within the excessive courtroom, difficult his arrest and the remand orders.

  • ED attaches Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik’s property in NSEL PMLA case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The ED on Friday stated it has hooked up property value Rs 11.35 crore of Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik within the cash laundering case linked to the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL).

    The federal probe company issued a provisional order beneath the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for attachment of two flats and a parcel of land in Thane (close to Mumbai) “held by” Sarnaik.

    The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing the NSEL case after taking congnisance of a 2013 FIR of the financial offences wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police towards its administrators, key officers and 25 defaulters.

    The accused hatched a “criminal conspiracy” to defraud the traders, induced them to commerce on the platform of the NSEL, created solid paperwork like bogus warehouse receipts, falsified the accounts and thereby dedicated legal breach of belief in respect Rs 5,600 crore of roughly 13,000 traders, the ED stated.

    Probe discovered that “the money collected from various investors were diverted by borrowers/trading members of NSEL for other activities like investment into real estate, repayment of outstanding debts and other activities.”

    Talking in regards to the position of Sarnaik and his linked corporations, it stated {that a} agency referred to as Aastha Group, a defaulting member of NSEL, has legal responsibility of Rs 242.66 crore in direction of the alternate.

    “Aastha Group diverted Rs 21.74 crore of Vihang Aastha Housing Projects LLP in the period of 2012-13. Out of total amount of Rs 21.74 crore received by Vihang Aastha Housing Projects LLP, Rs 11.35 crore was transferred to Vihang Enterprises and Vihang Infrastructure Pvt. Limited, both firms controlled by Pratap Sarnaik and his family members,” the ED alleged.

    The remaining quantity of Rs 10.50 crore originating from Aastha Group was paid to at least one Yogesh Deshmukh. “This amount (of Rs 10.50 crore) has already been attached under PMLA and the same has been confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority of the PMLA,” it stated.

    The complete worth of hooked up property on this case now stands at Rs 3,254.02 crore, the ED stated.

    The company earlier this week hooked up property value Rs 6.45 crore of an organization owned by Shridhar Madhav Patankar, the brother-in-law of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, in reference to a cash laundering investigation.

    A lot of politicians and ministers of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) authorities have confronted ED motion up to now.

    NCP chief and minister within the Thackeray cabinet Nawab Malik was arrested by the ED final month on cash laundering fees, his former colleague Anil Deshmukh was held in a separate case and a sugar mill linked to state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was hooked up by the company final 12 months within the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) rip-off case.

    Assets belonging to Maharashtra minister and NCP MLA Prajakt Tanpure and others had been additionally hooked up by it final month in reference to its probe into the alleged rip-off in MSCB. It has additionally questioned Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut’s spouse Varsha in a cash laundering case whereas get together chief and minister Anil Parab has been questioned by it within the case towards Anil Deshmukh.

    Sena MP Bhavana Gawali too is going through a cash laundering investigation.

  • INX Media case: HC decide recuses from listening to ED’s plea towards order to supply paperwork to PC

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A Delhi High Court decide Monday recused from listening to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) plea difficult a trial courtroom’s order directing it to supply numerous paperwork to former Union Minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram regarding the INX Media cash laundering case.

    Justice Chandra Dhari Singh mentioned, “I am not hearing this matter. I am transferring it.”

    The decide mentioned the petition be listed earlier than one other bench on March 16.

    The ED, by advocate Amit Mahajan, has challenged the trial courtroom’s January 25, 2020 order by which the company was directed to supply a scanned copy of the listing of all unrelied upon paperwork to stop any additional delay within the case.

    The trial courtroom’s order was handed on two functions by Chidambaram and his son Karti looking for inspection of unrelied upon paperwork by the ED.

    In the identical case, the Delhi High Court on November 10, 2021, had dismissed the CBI’s plea difficult the trial courtroom’s order permitting inspection of paperwork by Chidambaram and his son within the INX Media corruption case.

    Chidambaram was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) within the INX Media corruption case on August 21, 2019. On October 16 that yr, the ED arrested him in a associated money-laundering case.

    Six days later, on October 22, 2019, the apex courtroom had granted bail to Chidambaram within the case lodged by the CBI. In the ED case, he had bought bail on December 4, 2019.

    The CBI had registered its case on May 15, 2017, alleging irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to the INX Media group for receiving abroad funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 throughout Chidambaram’s tenure as finance minister.

    Subsequently, the ED had lodged the cash laundering case.

    The former Union Minister’s son Karti Chidambaram was arrested by CBI in February 2018 and he was granted bail in March 2018 within the INX Media corruption case.

  • Some superheroes are known as dad, says Nawab Malik’s daughter after his arrest

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Some superheroes do not put on capes, they’re known as dad, mentioned Nilofer Malik, daughter of Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik, after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday.

    The ED arrested Malik after questioning him for about 5 hours at its workplace in south Mumbai’s Ballard Estate space in a cash laundering probe linked to the actions of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides.

    The 62-year-old NCP chief was later produced earlier than particular Judge R N Rokade, who remanded him to ED custody until March 3 for additional probe into the matter.

    When the minister was dropped at the court docket, Nilofer, who was ready on the premises, acquired a chance to satisfy her father, though briefly.

    When the ED’s automobile carrying Malik entered the court docket premises and stopped, Nilofer couldn’t cease her tears. She went near the SUV, held her father’s hand and hugged him after opening the automobile’s door. She then kissed her father’s hand and raised her clenched fist to indicate her help.

    A video of the emotional second between the father-daughter duo was later circulated on social media. Along with Nilofer, Malik’s one other daughter was additionally current contained in the court docket through the listening to.

    After the temporary assembly together with her father, Nilofer mentioned in a tweet, “Some superheroes don’t wear capes. They are called Dad.” with hashtags #NawabMalikMyHero #NawabMalik #WeStandWithNawabMalik.

  • Malik despatched to ED custody until March 3 in cash laundering case

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: A particular courtroom right here on Wednesday remanded Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik to the custody of Enforcement Directorate (ED) until March 3 in a cash laundering probe linked to the actions of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides.

    Malik was arrested earlier within the day after being questioned for about 5 hours on the ED workplace in south Mumbai’s Ballard Estate space since round 8 am.

    The 62-year-old NCP chief was produced earlier than particular Judge RN Rokade, who remanded him to ED custody until March 3 for additional probe into the matter.

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    The cabinet minister’s assertion was recorded underneath the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and he was arrested underneath the identical provisions as he was evasive in his replies, ED officers stated.

    The ED case is predicated on an FIR filed lately by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in opposition to Ibrahim, a fugitive gangster, and others.

    The NIA had filed its felony criticism underneath sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).