The CBI during its probe got inputs of a large cache of arms hidden in Sandeshkhali. On Friday morning, a CBI team started a search operation during which the arms, including foreign-made pistols, were seized, the officials said.
The premises covered under the search operation belong to private entities linked to liquor dealership and distributorship, they said.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday stayed the trial court proceedings against senior Congress leader P Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate.
The matter was mentioned before a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the West Bengal government, seeking an urgent hearing.
Kejriwal, who is in jail till July 12 in the Central Bureau of Investigation case related to the excise policy, appeared before the court of special judge Kaveri Baweja through video conference.
A Delhi court on Friday sent Bharat Rasthra Samithi leader K Kavitha to Central Bureau of Investigation custody till April 15 in the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Manish Sisodia, arrested in the Delhi excise policy case in February last year, on Tuesday told a Delhi court hearing his bail petition that no purpose will be served by keeping him in jail any further.
Officials said the three others who have been arrested are Ghosh's security guard Afsar Ali (44), and hospital vendors Biplav Singha (52) and Suman Hazara (46) who used to supply material to the hospital.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a money laundering case against Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra and businessman Darshan Hiranandani in connection with an alleged cash-for-queries scam case, official sources said Tuesday.
The ED's counsel also contended that Kavitha was a co-conspirator and a beneficiary of the excise "scam" and the proceeds of crime were directly going to her.
Sisodia tendered his resignation from the Delhi Cabinet following his arrest by the CBI.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have intensified their investigations against Gaurav Mehta, a suspect in a Bitcoin Ponzi scam, following allegations that politicians may have been involved in using cryptocurrency to influence Maharashtra assembly polls. The ED searched Mehta's residence in Raipur and seized computers and digital devices. The CBI summoned him to appear before investigators. The ED is probing Mehta's potential links to politicians, politically exposed persons, and bureaucrats as part of its money laundering probe. The allegations came after BJP released purported voice notes suggesting that Congress and NCP leaders were attempting to use cryptocurrency for election campaigning. Both parties denied the claims, calling the voice notes fake.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on the premises of Rajasthan Congress leader and former minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas and Punjab AAP MLA Kulwant Singh as part of a money laundering probe linked to the Rs 48,000-crore PACL Ponzi scam. Khachariyawas, who served as a minister in the Ashok Gehlot government, claimed the ED action was politically motivated due to his criticism of the government. Singh, a real estate promoter, is reported to be Punjab's richest MLA with assets worth Rs 1,000 crore. The ED has been investigating the PACL scam since 2015, alleging that the company defrauded investors of Rs 48,000 crore through fraudulent investment schemes.
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday continued its searches at places linked to Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara as part of the probe into alleged gold smuggling-linked money laundering case against Kannada actress Ranya Rao and others, official sources said.
The role of Rhea's brother Showik and his purported links with the people nabbed by the NCB are under the scanner of the agency and he and Rajput's manager Samuel Miranda are expected to be summoned for questioning soon, the officials said.
Moitra, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha in December for "unethical conduct", has been renominated by her party from West Bengal's Krishnanagar seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
A Delhi court on Wednesday sent former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to 14-day judicial custody in a money laundering case arising out of the excise policy matter.
Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia's judicial custody was extended till April 3 on Monday by a court in New Delhi in a case related to the excise policy being probed by the CBI.
The high court directed the state government to "immediately implement" its Tuesday's judgement to transfer a case on the attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials at Sandeshkhali to the CBI and hand over custody of the main accused Sheikh to the central agency.
The ED on Wednesday had issued a fresh and the fifth summons to Kejriwal after he skipped four earlier summonses over the last four months.
Sources said Babu, during the recording of his statement last week in Delhi, has "denied" knowledge of involvement of any ED officer vis-a-vis the VACB case, saying he "only" knows a person named Wilson.
The stalemate between the opposition and the government continued for two weeks over the issue of suspension of 12 MPs
Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta Justice N K Mehrotra on Tuesday recommended an inquiry by an independent agency, including Central Bureau of Investigation or Enforcement Directorate, against former sports minister Ayodhya Prasad Pal in a disproportionate assets case.
Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita congratulated the Aam Aadmi Party and wished for the release of other leaders lodged in Tihar jail.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sanjay Karol deferred the matter after senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Shivakumar, said the matter is coming up before the high court on May 23.
He is expected to be produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court on Saturday where the ED will seek his remand for custodial interrogation.
Every single day counts in matters concerning the liberty of citizens, the Supreme Court said on Friday while asking the Delhi high court to decide on the regular bail plea of a businessman in a corruption case related to the now scrapped Delhi excise policy.
In his plea, the Aam Aadmi Party leader has accused the ED of leaking the CCTV footage 'despite an undertaking given in the court' that no material related to the case will be divulged to the media.
The Bombay high court on Thursday quashed the Enforcement Case Information Report' (ECIR) registered by the Enforcement Directorate against Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal in an alleged money laundering case. The central probe agency's ECIR was based on a First Information Report (FIR) registered by police against Goyals for alleged cheating and forgery on a complaint filed by Akbar Travels. After hearing both the sides, a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan quashed the ECIR registered on February 20, 2020 and all proceedings against Goyals on the ground of "being illegal and contrary" to law.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, the AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha alleged that the BJP is offering two options to his party MLAs -- they should either join the saffron party or the CBI-ED will put them in jail.
Kavitha Kalvakuntla, 44, a Bharat Rashtra Samiti MLC, declared this in a late-night post on her official Twitter handle.
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal is unlikely to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy, sources in the party said.
Banerjee, who was speaking on a resolution in the assembly against the 'excesses' of the central probe agencies, urged the prime minister to ensure that the agenda of the union government and the interests of his party do not get mixed up.
The Enforcement Directorate is examining a request from the Central Bureau of Investigation asking it to attach properties of DB Realty worth over Rs 200 crore of DB Group under the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The top court had in 2020 directed installation of CCTV cameras and recording equipment at the offices of investigating agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate and National Investigation Agency, which conduct interrogations and have the power of arrest.
They raised slogans against the Bharatiya Janata Party and the central agencies.
Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday for more than 13 hours in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board under his chairmanship, officials said.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to deliver on Friday its verdict on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's petitions seeking bail and challenging his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the excise policy 'scam'.
Raghav Magunta was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Friday evening, they said.
'This type of comprehensive legislation has never been introduced before in Parliament's history.' 'A bill that simultaneously affects ministers, chief ministers, and the prime minister represents completely uncharted Constitutional territory.' 'Throughout our nation's legislative history, the established policy has consistently held that public office holders should face punishment only after receiving conviction from a competent court of law. Without this safeguard, we risk systematic destabilisation, and our federal structure would face complete collapse.' 'Any central government could potentially deploy this legislation against state governments they oppose politically. This represents the most frightening prospect and dangerous possibility that these bills create.'
