The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet in the National Herald case, accusing Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi of a "criminal conspiracy" to "usurp" properties worth Rs 2,000 crore of its public company AJL by transferring 99 per cent shares for just Rs 50 lakh to their private company Young Indian. The ED has named Sonia Gandhi as accused no 1 and Rahul Gandhi as accused no 2 in the chargesheet, which was filed under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Gandhi cited the example of Maharashtra assembly elections, claiming there was an addition of 65 lakh voters to the voter list in two hours, "which was impossible."
He has been sent to the ED custody till April 18 by the court, they said.
The ED had conducted searches against the legislator, Sai Aaina Farms Pvt Ltd (now Mahira Infratech Pvt Ltd), other companies of the Mahira Group and some others in July last year.
The Delhi high court on Thursday granted bail to Chitra Ramkrishna in the money laundering case related to alleged illegal phone tapping and snooping of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) employees, saying prima facie there are reasonable grounds to believe she is not guilty. Justice Jasmeet Singh granted bail to the former NSE managing director on a personal bond of Rs one lakh and two sureties of the like amount. "Prima facie there are reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant is not guilty of the offence and she is not likely to commit any offence while on bail...the application is allowed and the applicant is granted bail," the court said.
"Mr Robert Vadra not only renovated the aforesaid property at 12 Bryanston Square, London through Sumit Chadha but also stayed in the same," it said.
The judge passed the order after hearing arguments advanced by the prosecution and the defence counsel on Kejriwal's application for regular bail.
The agency had alleged in its earlier charge sheets that at least 36 accused, including former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Kumar, "destroyed, used or changed" 170 phones to conceal evidence of "kickbacks" worth thousands of crores of rupees in the alleged scam.
Referring to the arguments advanced by Chidambaram's counsel on Tuesday that ED wanted to humiliate him by arresting him, Mehta had said, "A victim card is sought to be played. They are saying humiliation. It is not. It is prevention, prevention and prevention with capital P. I am serious about this".
The MLAs of the ruling JMM-led alliance exuded confidence of winning the floor test, while the opposition BJP asserted that the coalition would be defeated.
The legislators landed at the Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi in a chartered flight and were taken to the Circuit House in the city in two buses.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR against an Enforcement Directorate (ED) assistant director who escaped during a trap operation last week. The ED officer, posted in Shimla, is accused of demanding bribes from promoters of educational institutes in Himachal Pradesh. The CBI has already arrested the officer's brother and a middleman in connection with the case. The ED officer and his supervisory officers have been transferred to Delhi.
The government has allowed the Enforcement Directorate to share information about economic offenders with 15 more agencies, including SFIO, CCI and NIA, a move that will expedite nailing of law-breakers. The finance ministry notified changes to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on November 22. Through the notification, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which deals primarily with cases of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws, would be able to share data with a total of 25 agencies, including the 10 specified earlier.
He referred to the top court's 2022 judgement in the Vijay Madanlal Choudhary case and said it had held that ED officers are not "police officers".
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.
A total of 161.30 acres of land, plant, machinery and building of the Kannad Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Limited (Kannad SSK) located in Kannad village of Aurangabad district has been provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED said in a statement.
The high court, which perused the material collected by the investigating agencies, said Kavitha was prima facie involved in the payment of kickbacks in various processes and activities relating to proceeds of crime and in the commission of the offence of money laundering.
The 61-year-old MLA from Islampur seat of Maharashtra was issued the first summons for appearance on May 12 but he had sought deferment for about 10 days citing some personal and official engagements.
Several Aam Aadmi Party leaders, including Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, hit out at the BJP government at the Centre, saying agencies are targeting those who raised their voice against the ruling party.
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it has attached in London, Dubai and India assets worth Rs 538 crore of Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, his family members and companies as part of a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged bank loan fraud. The attached properties include 17 residential flats, bungalows and commercial premises. Located in London, Dubai and various cities in India, these properties are in the name of various companies like Jetair Private Limited and Jet Enterprises Private Limited, Goyal, his wife Anita, and son Nivaan, the central agency said in a statement.
The Enforcement Directorate has issued two summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to appear for questioning on March 18 and 21, official sources said Sunday.
The court also rebuked the prosecuting agency, Enforcement Directorate (ED), for not taking Malik to the doctor who has been treating his condition since the beginning.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta is likely to hear the matter.
A special court in Mumbai on Monday extended the judicial custody of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut till September 5 in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of a Mumbai 'chawl'.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday told the Delhi high court that the trial court order granting bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was based on 'perverse' findings as it did not consider the material demonstrating his 'neck deep involvement' in the offence of money laundering linked to the alleged excise scam.
About a dozen locations in the state, including in state capital Ranchi and a premise in Rajasthan, are being raided by the central agency under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.
The bench said it is not going into the merit of the case at the moment.
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Delhi for the second day on Tuesday for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the alleged illegal phone tapping of NSE employees, officials said. This is the second consecutive day that the retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer is being questioned by the federal probe agency in this case. Like Monday, the officer will continue to reply to questions on the business and operations of a firm floated by him for security audit of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and his statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, they said.
Bharat Rashtra Samiti leader K Kavitha is expected to be produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court by the Enforcement Directorate in New Delhi on Saturday for obtaining her remand for custodial interrogation in the money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22, officials said.
The ED had last week filed the supplementary charge sheet, naming Raut as an accused in the case.
The Enforcement Directorate Friday said it has attached gems, jewellery and bank deposits worth Rs 253.62 crore of some Hong Kong-based companies of fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi as part of a money laundering probe. Some assets of Nirav Modi group of companies in Hong Kong were identified in the form of gems and jewelleries lying in private vaults and bank balances in accounts maintained there and these have been provisionally attached under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the federal probe agency said in a statement. The amount kept in banks amounts to $30.98 million and Hong Kong dollars 5.75 million, which is equivalent to Rs 253.62 crore (as on July 22, 2022), it said.
A voter's right to know is 'far too important' in democracy than the privacy of a donor, Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjiv Khanna said on Thursday as the apex court scrapped the 2018 electoral bond scheme for funding political parties.
After Deshmukh (71) was remanded to judicial custody, his legal team moved a plea before the court, seeking that he be allowed to have home food and medicines, considering his age and medical history.
Hussain, the agency said, has been 'arrested in connection with ongoing PMLA investigation into his role in money laundering and funding of anti-CAA protests and organising riots in north-east Delhi during February, 2020'.
The bench said the ED officers acting under the Section 19(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cannot ignore or not consider the material which exonerates the arrestee.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is expected to press money laundering charges against its two officers and some private individuals who were recently booked by the CBI in a bribery case linked to an accused arrested in the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam, official sources said Tuesday.
The agency will also record Kavitha's statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The total amount covered by interim orders of no coercive action passed by the courts in such matters is approximately Rs 67,000 crore, the government told a bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged that some Congress leaders pressured individuals to donate funds to the Young Indian and Associated Journals Limited (AJL) on instructions from senior party functionaries. The ED's chargesheet in the National Herald case claims that these individuals made payments to the company "under the influence" from senior leaders who promised them "certain favours" in party politics. The chargesheet, filed on April 9 before a local court, names Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi as accused, along with five others, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency alleges that these donations were not made voluntarily but in expectation of political benefits. The ED also found that YI and AJL received funds from various entities through "quid pro quo" arrangements, where individuals were asked to make payments for advertisements in the National Herald in exchange for past favours from Congress leaders.
The Congress is gearing up to demonstrate a political show of strength on Monday when the party leader Rahul Gandhi will appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection in connection with a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper.
