New Delhi:

Senior AAP leader and MLA Amanatullah Khan on Monday claimed that a team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has reached his house here to arrest him. Sources said the ED team reached his house in Okhla as part of a money laundering investigation.

Delhi Police and Central Reserve Police Force teams have been deployed at Mr Khan’s residence

In a post on X, Amanatullah Khan said, “An ED team has reached my house to arrest me.”

“Early this morning, the ED reached my house,” said Mr Khan, who represents Okhla in the Delhi Assembly.

अभी सुबह-सुबह तानाशाह के इशारे पर उनकी कटपुतली ED मेरे घर पर पहुँच चुकी है, मुझे और AAP नेताओं को परेशान करने में तानाशाह कोई कसर नहीं छोड़ रहा।

ईमानदारी से अवाम की ख़िदमत करना गुनाह है?

आख़िर ये तानाशाही कब तक?#EDRaid#Okhlapic.twitter.com/iR2YN7Z9NL

— Amanatullah Khan AAP (@KhanAmanatullah) September 2, 2024

Several Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, hit out at the BJP government at the Centre, saying agencies are targeting those who raised their voices against the ruling party.

In a video on X, Mr Khan also said he has been replying to all the notices being sent by the agency. But a team is here to arrest him on a search warrant, he said.

On X, Sisodia said the only work left for the ED is to “suppress every voice raised against the BJP and break it”. Those who do not break, are arrested and put in jail, he alleged.

Mr Singh claimed that the ED has no evidence against Mr Khan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “dictatorship” and the ED’s “hooliganism” continue, he alleged. 

Lucknow:

 YouTuber Elvish Yadav has been asked to appear before the Lucknow unit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on July 23 for questioning in connection with the money laundering case related to the snake venom-rave party case, registered against him by Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida) police, said senior ED officials.

Earlier, the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the snake venom incident, considering the significant amount of money involved in the racket in May this year.

M Yadav was arrested on March 17 and sent to 14-day judicial custody.

However, he was granted bail by a local court five days later.

A senior ED official confirmed that the agency’s Lucknow unit summoned Elvish Yadav on July 23 after he expressed his inability to appear before the ED on July 8, citing his foreign tour.

The official said Mr Yadav has been given relaxation and allowed to turn up later.

He added that Elvish Yadav’s close associate and Haryana singer Rahul Yadav, popularly known as Fazilpuria, was questioned for multiple hours at the ED Lucknow office on Monday.

Fazilpuria was questioned about the use of a snake in one of his popular songs.

Besides, Elvish Yadav’s other aides, Ishwar Yadav and Vinay Yadav, were questioned in the matter in the past.

On April 6, the Gautam Buddha Nagar police filed a 1,200-page chargesheet under the Wildlife Conservation Act against Mr Yadav and seven others in connection with the case, nearly six months after the FIR was registered.

The charge sheet describes how snakes were smuggled and how their venom was used at the parties.

While Mr Yadav had refuted the charges against him, calling them “baseless and fake,” police later dropped charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act against him, stating that it was a “mistake” on their side.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Lucknow:

The Lucknow unit of Enforcement Directorate (ED) grilled Haryanvi singer Rahul Yadav alias Rahul Fazilpuria at its Hazratganj office on Monday for more than 10 hours, an Enforcement Directorate official said.

Sources said Rahul Yadav, 33, is a friend of YouTuber and Bigg Boss OTT season 2 winner Elvish Yadav

The Enforcement Directorate questioned the singer regarding the alleged generation of proceeds of crime and the use of illicit funds for organising rave parties.

Sources added that he will be summoned again.

The Enforcement Directorate had registered a money laundering case against Elvish Yadav in the rave party case where snake venom was allegedly served.

The agency had filed the case after taking cognisance of an FIR lodged against him in Noida last month.

The Enforcement Directorate sources said that the bank account details of Elvish Yadav as well as properties acquired by him are under the scanner.

The Gurugram police had recently booked Rahul Yadav and Elvish Yadav for allegedly using rare species of snakes and a .32 bore pistol in a music video.

Haryana’s Jannayak Janta Party had fielded Rahul Yadav from Gurugram in the Lok Sabha election but he lost to BJP’s Rao Inderjit Singh.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Ranchi:

Ex-Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has been granted bail by the High Court. “Bail is granted. The court held, prima facie, Hemant Soren is not guilty, and there is no likelihood of the petitioner committing an offence on bail,” Mr Soren’s counsel Arunabh Chowdhury, told news agency PTI.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 on money laundering charges. The ED has accused him of running a scheme to manipulate records, via fictitious transactions and forged documents, and acquire 8.86 acres of land in Ranchi worth crores.

The bail order today comes after a twin setback last month.

First, the Ranchi special court denied Mr Soren bail.

Then, in the Supreme Court, the Jharkhand leader was forced to withdraw an interim bail plea after tough questions over non-disclosure of facts; the focus was on Mr Soren not revealing the special court – which hears cases related to money laundering – had taken cognisance of the complaint against him.

READ | No Interim Bail Yet For Hemant Soren. He Cited Kejriwal’s Example

There was also confusion over a prior bail plea – dismissed – in the High Court, which then pointed to an “abundance of documents that lay foundation for the arrest and remand of petitioner”.

NDTV Explains | Hemant Soren’s 2 Bail Pleas And A Rap By Supreme Court

This was after the Supreme Court issued a notice to the central agency and sought its response to an interim bail plea filed before it on grounds the High Court was delaying delivery of its judgement.

The Supreme Court setback meant Mr Soren – unlike Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, arrested by the ED in the alleged liquor policy scam – could not campaign for his party, and the Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc, in the April-June Lok Sabha election.

Mr Kejriwal had been granted bail by the top court to campaign for the AAP.

READ | 9 Acre Illegal Land, BMW Car: What Report On Soren’s Claims

Hemant Soren resigned as Chief Minister on January 31, hours after the ED began a marathon questioning session and then informed him he would be arrested.

READ | Soren Refused To Sign Arrest Memo Until He Resigned: Sources

Mr Soren, however, refused to accept the arrest memo till he had quit his post, in order to avoid being the first sitting Chief Minister to be arrested.

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Mumbai:

Luxury cars like Mercedes Benz and Lexus, and watch brands like Rolex and Hublot apart from more than 140 bank accounts and lockers were seized after the ED raided a Mumbai-based business group in an alleged Rs 975 crore bank loan fraud linked money laundering case.

The searches were undertaken against Mandhana Industries Limited (now GB Global Ltd.) and its promoters on Wednesday, the federal agency said in a statement.

The money laundering case stems from a CBI FIR filed against the company, its directors Purushottam Mandhana, Manish Mandhana, Biharilal Mandhana and others based on a complaint filed by the Bank of Baroda for allegedly defrauding a consortium of banks to the tune of Rs 975.08 crore, according to the statement issued on Thursday.

Mandhana Industries Ltd and its directors “hatched a criminal conspiracy” to cause loss to banks and corresponding wrongful gain to themselves by “diverting” loan funds through fraudulent transactions and circular trading, it said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said the searches led to the unearthing of “crucial incriminating” documents including property documents.

More than 140 bank accounts, five lockers and shares and securities worth Rs 5 crore have been frozen and three high-end cars, including a Lexus and a Mercedes Benz, along with multiple watches of brands like Rolex and Hublot were seized during the raids, the ED said.

“Various fictitious entities were incorporated by the directors of Mandhana Industries Ltd. in the name of employees of the company for layering funds through the bank accounts of such entities.

“Suspicious third-party transactions were made to divert funds to the accounts of promoter/directors and their family members and bogus purchases were booked against payments made to different entities providing accommodation (hawala) entries, it alleged.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Bank and demat account deposits apart from cash worth about Rs 37 crore has been seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as part of a money laundering probe against a Mumbai-based financial consultant and his company who are alleged to have duped investors of Rs 600 crore through a Ponzi scheme.

The federal agency said on Sunday that the action was undertaken after carrying out raids in the metropolitan city on June 21 against Amber Dalal and his company Ritz Consultancy Services.

The Enforcement Directorate case of money laundering stems from a Mumbai Police FIR that charged the Chartered Accountant and his company with taking money from investors through a “suspected Ponzi scheme that promised high returns.” Dalal “absconded” with this money after giving initial returns. It has been gathered that Dalal raised more than Rs 600 crore from 1,300 investors, the ED said in a statement.

He was arrested by the EOW, Mumbai Police and is presently under judicial custody, it said.

Dalal raised money from investors on the pretext that he invested the funds in nine commodities like gold, silver, crude oil, natural gas, zinc, lead, nickel, copper, aluminium and their trade, ensuring the capital is safe and promising an annual return of 18-22 per cent to his investors, the ED alleged.

Using the same modus operandi, he raised money from investors in UAE and USA as well, it said.

The search operations unveiled a network of stockbrokers, investment advisors who brought clients in lieu of commission. It is also found that payment received from new investment were being utilised to pay out the monthly returns to the old investors, it said.

Dalal “diverted” the funds received in Ritz’s account to personal accounts, which were further routed to family member’s accounts and used for creating assets, the ED said.

He “diverted” about Rs 51 crore to his personal accounts. These funds were used to acquire assets in India and abroad, it said.

The ED has identified eight such immovable properties in India and two abroad.

“Other than from banking channels, investments were made through cash as well, which was then infused in books as accommodation entries in connivance with Mumbai-based jewellers.

“Returns on such cash-based investments were given to investors in India and abroad (including UK, UAE) by hawala operators,” the ED said.

Cash, bank deposits, Demat account holdings to the tune of Rs 37 crore have been frozen and various incriminating documents, digital devices have been seized during the searches, it said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has filed a regular bail plea before a court in New Delhi, which is slated to hear it at 2 pm today, in connection with a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam.

Mr Kejriwal was ordered to be released on interim bail till June 1 by the Supreme Court in view of the ongoing general elections.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court registry had refused to accept the application moved by him seeking a seven-day extension of interim bail to undergo medical examinations, including a PET-CT scan.

The Supreme Court registry said that the top court had already reserved its verdict in the matter and the application seeking a 7-day extension has no relation to the main petition.

As Supreme Court had allowed him to move the trial court for obtaining regular bail, the application is not maintainable, it added.

As per the Aam Aadmi Party, Chief Minister Kejriwal’s health has deteriorated since he was arrested in the alleged Delhi excise scam.

The party has said that he has lost 7 kg in weight after his arrest and his Ketone levels are also very high indicating a serious medical disorder.

The party has further said that the Chief Minister was required to do medical tests and seven days were needed for this.

Earlier, the top court had directed him to surrender back to Tihar Jail on June 2.

The top court on May 17 had reserved its verdict on Chief Minister Kejriwal’s petition challenging his arrest and subsequent remand by the federal anti-money laundering agency in the excise policy case.

It said he could approach the trial court for a grant of regular bail notwithstanding the fact that the top court reserved judgment in the matter.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court will not hear Arvind Kejriwal’s request seeking a 7-day extension of his interim bail in a corruption case linked to the Delhi liquor policy. The Court last month granted interim bail to Mr Kejriwal to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections and had asked him to surrender on June 2, a day after the last leg of polling.

The Supreme Court registrar, while refusing the plea, said that the Delhi Chief Minister was given permission to move trial court for regular bail, and hence this petition is “not maintainable”.

Mr Kejriwal had sought an extension on medical ground and requested the court for an urgent hearing today.

“In view of health complications and increased risk signs, a medical examination is necessary to protect him from possible long-term harm to during his prison term,” senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is representing Mr Kejriwal, said in the petition. He had also stressed that the AAP leader will remain “visible and available in public” while out on bail.

“There is no risk of fleeing the legal process and conditions set by Supreme Court (for interim bail) have been followed…” Mr Singhvi said.

The probe agency believes the Delhi Chief Minister played a key role in drafting the now-scrapped policy and seeking bribes, or kickbacks, in return for liquor licences. The agency has claimed the AAP received kickbacks of Rs 100 crore that was then used to fund its Goa and Punjab election campaigns.

The AAP and Mr Kejriwal have refused all charges and called the arrest and case “political vendetta”, coming as it did, weeks before the election. The arrest also triggered a political spat between the ruling BJP and the opposition INDIA bloc, which is led by the Congress and of which the AAP is a member.

Rana Kapoor, founder of the Yes Bank. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

A special court in Mumbai granted bail to Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor on Friday. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai, arrested Mr. Kapoor on March 7, 2020, for involvement in a ₹ 466.51 crore bank fraud. He was also charged with money laundering and eight other cases related to bank fraud. He secured bail in all the cases filed against him by the ED. Mr. Kapoor walked out of Taloja Central Prison at 7p.m after more than 4-years of incarceration.

Mr. Kapoor’s lawyer Rahul Agarwal said, “The case in brief is that Yes Bank Ltd was accused of misappropriation of the impugned loan amount and through Bliss Abode Private Limited (BAPL) had the sole intention of taking over the prime property at Amrita Shergill Marg (ASM) in New Delhi. Rana Kapoor had filed a bail application on the ground that the allegations in the chargesheet do not prima facie reveal his role in the case and no offence is made out against him. In the present case, Mr. Kapoor was sent to police custody on August 14, 2021, and had been in judicial custody since 21, 2021 in the present case.”

Criminal conspiracy

The court granted bail to Mr. Kapoor in the CBI’s case against him and Avantha Group promoter Gautam Thapar for alleged criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating and forgery to divert ₹ 466.51 crore in public money.

The other two accused in the case are already on bail and Gautam Thapar was released on bail without arrest. Rana Kapoor also stated that he was never the sole/final approving authority of the impugned loan transaction and the entire Management Credit Committee (MCC) involving other members had collectively approved the Impugned loan unanimously. Each member had a right to veto and no one objected to the sanction of the load despite an elaborate credit appraisal mechanism.  

“Some of the members of the MCC were named as witnesses by the CBI but are named as ‘accused’ in the PMLA offence by the ED and their respective statements were recorded by the ED. CBI’s main allegation in the chargesheet is that the property at ASM was purchased at an undervalued consideration is baseless and reliance was placed on various valuation reports which were either pre-demonetisation era or the valuation itself was defective,” said Mr. Agarwal.  

‘False claim’ in chargsheet

Mr. Agarwal also claims that the ED chargesheet falsely and mischievously portrays that Rana Kapoor was somehow obligated to disclose his wife’s interest in BAPL, and in the transaction with Avantha Reality Ltd (ARL), and that he failed to do so but Rana Kapoor duly disclosed to Yes Bank Ltd‘s Board of Directors that his wife was a Director of BAPL which is borne out in the chargesheet. 

“The chargesheet makes out a vague case that three loans were granted by Yes Bank Ltd to Avantha Group (AG) entities prior to and after the sale of the property to BAPL, that were not used for specified purposes. No connection was drawn by CBI between such loans and the sale transaction of the property, and none exists. Considering all this evidence, the court released him on bail,” Mr. Agarwal informed.  

New Delhi:

Two co-founders of the private institution Ashoka University are among three people arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged money laundering, sources said today.

The two Ashoka University co-founders, Pranav Gupta and Vineet Gupta, and chartered accountant SK Bansal were arrested by the central agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, or PMLA.

The arrests came after the ED searched 17 locations in the alleged bank fraud case involving Parabolic Drugs Ltd, promoted by Pranav Gupta and Vineet Gupta.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had charged Parabolic Drugs for alleged bank fraud amounting to Rs 1,600 crore.

The ED started its probe based on the first information report by the CBI.

The Guptas, who co-founded Haryana-based Ashoka University, had stepped down from their posts in the institute in 2022 after the CBI filed the case against them and their company in 2021.

The three are likely to be produced before a court in Chandigarh, where the ED will seek their custody.

The promoters and the pharma company allegedly defrauded a consortium led by Central Bank of India of Rs 1,626.