ED may probe Gensol Engineering under anti-money laundering law
It is learnt that the ED is analysing the recent SEBI report that barred the promoter brothers of Gensol -- Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi -- from the securities market for various violations apart from accusations of siphoning off loan funds from their publicly listed company for personal use.
The ED may initiate a probe under the anti-money laundering law to look into the diversion of funds and loss to investors of Gensol as stated in the SEBI report. The agency will also look for possible violations of the foreign exchange law that are investigated under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the sources told PTI. The Raipur office of the agency also froze, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), a fresh few lakh shares in the company that are allegedly linked to some foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). The sources indicated that the shares were held by a company linked to a Dubai-based "hawala operator" being investigated in the Mahadev app case.
The freezing action came after the ED carried out fresh searches in the Mahadev case on April 16 and said in a statement on Monday that it has frozen securities, bonds and demat accounts worth a total Rs 573 crore. The ED also said its probe found that the "proceeds of crime generated by the betting platform and its linked syndicates were being transferred out of India and later deployed in the Indian stock market in the name of FPIs based in Mauritius, Dubai, etc". The agency had frozen around five lakh shares of Gensol in February last year too as part of the Mahadev app probe.
Gensol Engineering Ltd (GEL), in its regulatory filing for quarters ending March 2025 and December 2024, has said that the ED (Raipur office) holds a total of 5,20,063 shares which is 1.35 per cent of its shareholding. These shares were held by Zenith Multi Trading DMCC, an entity allegedly linked to Hari Shankar Tibrewal. The ED has earlier said Tibrewal is a Dubai-based "hawala operator" claiming he partnered with the promoters of Mahadev app in illegal operations for a betting website named 'skyexchange'. In March last year, the ED said that Tibrewal "used Suraj Chokhani (an accused in the case) to launder and hide proceeds of crime under the guise of share investment for Indian companies". "Searches at the premises of Chokhani in Kolkata found that the major source for these investments has been collected by way of receiving bank entries against cash in these companies and utilising the proceeds for investment in share market," it had alleged in a statement. As of February 29, 2024, the agency said the Indian companies under control of associates of Tibrewal held around securities worth Rs 580 crore in stock portfolios and the foreign entities also invested in India via the FPI route and as of the same date, they were found to be holding securities worth Rs 606 crore in stock portfolios. Tibrewal, it claimed, was also involved in "manipulation" of the stock market in collusion with the promoters of some listed companies and using his "immense" capital, he used to create temporary fluctuations in share prices, driving them upwards, and then withdraw funds once the prices reached a desirable level. The Jaggi brothers have launched two prominent ventures -- Gensol Engineering and BluSmart Mobility, BluSmart was co-founded by Anmol Singh Jaggi and it provides electric car services in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Mumbai. At the heart of the ED's investigation are findings of the SEBI's interim order that said Gensol Engineering's promoters treated the listed company as a proprietary firm, diverting corporate funds to buy a high-end apartment in The Camellias, DLF Gurgaon, splurging on a luxury golf set, paying off credit cards, and transferring money to close relatives.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) findings also said that there was a pattern of fund diversion by the Gensol promoters pointing to governance failures within the company. Alleged misutilisation of term loans availed by Gensol Engineering from IREDA and PFC were also recorded in the SEBI report. SEBI also noted that the promoters were running the company like their personal piggy bank, routing funds to related parties and spending without regard for shareholder interest. The result of these transactions would mean that these diversions would, at some time, need to be written off from the company's books, ultimately resulting in losses to the investors, SEBI has said.
Listed on BSE and NSE, GEL is engaged in providing solar consulting services, Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) services, leasing of electric vehicles, etc.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
9 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Hospitality major Hilton Hotels sees growth across all segments in India
Hilton Hotels is witnessing exponential growth across all its segments in India — from luxury to upper upscale and mid-scale, prompting the company to see the country as one of its top priority markets for growth. 'We have seen high-velocity growth happening across the luxury, upper upscale, upscale, and mid-market premium economy segments in India,' Zubin Saxena, senior vice-president and regional head, South Asia, Hilton, told Business Standard. He added, 'We are sitting at the cusp of exponential growth. All our 250 hotel projects that we have planned in the last year will begin to unfold. And, we will have one of the newest portfolios in the Indian market in two-three years.' Currently, Hilton Hotels has 35 operational hotels in India and 31 are in the pipeline. In 2020, it had 20 operational hotels and 12 under development. Saxena added that a few years ago, Hilton had five hotel brands in India, now it is expected to operate hotels under 10 of its global brands. Of 24 global brands, the hotel company currently has Conrad Hotels and Resorts, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Hampton by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn, with hotels under brands like Waldorf Astoria, LXR Hotels and Resorts, Signia By Hilton, Spark By Hilton, and Curio Collection under development. 'India has one branded hotel room for every 3,000 people, which is far behind other major markets. This undersupply is consequently driving hotel demand and also makes India a very interesting market from a business point of view,' he said. In comparison, China has 881 operational hotels and 832 in the pipeline, where Hilton Hotels has a dominant market presence. Under its plan for targeting 10 times growth in 10 years, Hilton Hotels had earlier announced the signing of 75 Hampton by Hilton (an upper midscale hotel) with NILE Hospitality. It also has a strategic licensing agreement (SLA) with Olive by Embassy to open 150 Spark by Hilton hotels across India. He added that the company is open to collaborate with other hotel asset management firms at the right time. 'We have an asset-light play in India, but beyond the management of hotels, we are also very keen on the franchising side of the business. If we get a high-quality franchising opportunity that would help us grow our upscale and mid-market segments, we would be open to it,' he said. For the first six months of 2025, Hilton Hotels has recorded a double-digit growth in its revenue per available room (RevPAR) on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis. In the South Asian region, including Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, it has 71 operational hotels, which is two years ahead of its 2027 target of having 75 hotels, Saxena added.
The Print
35 minutes ago
- The Print
US treasury secy slams Indo-Russia oil trade, says profits benefits India's ‘richest families'
This comment comes only days after Donald Trump's top adviser, Peter Navarro, unleashed an anti-India tirade claiming its profits from Russian oil benefitted 'India's politically connected energy titans'. The same is 'unacceptable', Scott Bessent said. New Delhi: United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, while virtually absolving China, has accused India's 'richest families' of profiteering from Russian oil imports, in a thinly veiled swipe at Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, the most prominent private sector player in India's oil trade. 'India is just profiteering,' Scott Bessent further said in an interview with CNBC's Joe Kernen, charging India with making profits from Russian oil. 'They are reselling. They made $16 billion in excess profits. Some of the richest families in India. It is what I would call the Indian arbitrage—buying cheap Russian oil and reselling it as a product—that just sprung up during the war, which is unacceptable,' he added. Peter Navarro made a similar accusation earlier this week by labelling India 'a global clearinghouse for Russian crude'. Writing in the Financial Times, Navarro alleged that US trade dollars are indirectly funding Russia's war machine via India's refining sector. Peter Navarro's remarks appeared to go beyond general policy critique and seemed aimed squarely at a specific Indian corporate group. According to a Reuters report, India now imports over 1.75 million barrels per day of Russian oil—slightly up from the same period last year—with private refiners Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy accounting for nearly half of the volume. 'India exports more than a million barrels per day in refined petroleum products, equivalent to over half the volume of crude it imports from Russia. The proceeds flow to India's politically connected energy titans, and in turn, into Vladimir Putin's war chest,' Peter Navarro wrote. Navarro added, 'India's dependence on Russian crude undermines the global effort to isolate Moscow.' However, his assertion drew criticism for selective outrage, as China continues to import significantly more Russian oil than India, and Europe remains a major consumer of Russian gas, paying in hard currency. When asked whether China was also in the wrong, Scott Bessent said, 'If you go back and look now, I believe India had less than one percent of their oil from Russia pre-2022. Now it's up to 42 percent. So, this India arbitrage is a completely different thing.' Bessent hinted at potential trade consequences, saying the Trump administration plans to impose secondary tariffs on India for its purchases of sanctioned Russian oil. Comparing Russian oil imports by India and China, Scott Bessent remarked, 'China's import is suboptimal.' China's imports rose relatively modestly from 13 to 16 percent of its total portfolio, he noted. India pushes back India has firmly rejected accusations that its energy trade undermines global sanctions or supports Russia's war effort. Officials argue that national interest and energy security requirements drive the purchases in a volatile, globalised market. Comparing with 2024, government data shows India's April-July Russian oil imports down by 10 percent this year and its oil imports from the US up by 12 percent. Indian officials note that the surge in Russian crude began only after the implementation of the $60-per-barrel price cap announced at the G7 Summit, making such oil economically attractive for developing economies. India, the world's third-largest oil importer, maintains that its purchases comply with international law and serve domestic economic priorities. India's oil trade is under fire as the Trump administration seeks to revive stalled Russia-Ukraine peace talks. A symbolic US-Russia summit in Alaska earlier this month brought President Trump and President Vladimir Putin face-to-face for the first time in four years. 'Alaska was a show of force,' Scott Bessent said in the CNBC interview. 'It was like inviting your uncontrollable neighbour over and showing him your gun case.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be in the US for the trilateral talks, aimed at restarting the peace process. 'My strong belief is that there will be a bilateral meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky,' Scott Besent concluded. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: US promoting terrorism & dictatorship in the world—RSS mouthpiece days after Trump's 50% tariff bomb
The Print
36 minutes ago
- The Print
Russian diplomat Babushkin ‘hopeful' about resuming India-Russia-China trilateral meet
'As far as the three-letter is concerned, we are quite hopeful that this format will be resumed sooner rather than later because its importance is not questioned. But we should wait until the right time comes. We would welcome these developments because they proved their efficiency when we had regular interaction at the ministerial level and even at the leaders' level,' he stated. Speaking at a press briefing here in the national capital, Babushkin underscored the strategic importance of the dialogue, signalling hope for the revival of the trilateral format amid the growing global issues, particularly on the backdrop of the economic complexities due to the US's tariff imposition. New Delhi: The Charge d'Affaires at the Russian Embassy in Delhi, Roman Babushkin, on Wednesday, expressed optimism about the resumption of the India-Russia-China trilateral format, describing it as a vital step toward regional stability. 'It is all about the regional stability of the region, which is mostly dependent on how the relations between the three countries, the largest countries in the region, Russia, India and China, are developing,' he added. Babushkin was referring to the RIC framework, initiated in the late 1990s among the three largest countries in the region. He also highlighted the upcoming diplomatic engagements in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, which is scheduled to take place from August 31 to September 1 at Tianjin, China. 'We are all preparing to attend the SCO summit at the highest political level. Recently, in the engagements with the Chinese Foreign Minister, the Indian side confirmed the participation of the Prime Minister's attendance at the summit. There are also reports that the EU is preparing for a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Putin,' he noted. Commenting on the recent Russia-US summit in Alaska on August 15, Babushkin dismissed speculation, calling it a 'breakthrough development' in global diplomacy. He cautioned against reducing the summit to a single issue, particularly the Russia-Ukirane conflict and stressed that the talks were broad in scope, aimed at restoring fractured diplomatic relations between the two global powers. 'There are so many rumours and speculations about this summit in Alaska, which took place on the 15th of August. In fact, it was a breakthrough development, because you would see the leaders of the leading global powers sitting together and having a very warm, deep and very prolonged conversation. The agenda was a diversified one. We are absolutely not about to link it to just one particular question. We talk about the restoration of relations between Russia and the US. And for that, rebuilding trust is one of the most significant tasks,' he stated. Babushkin also mentioned reports, based on US President Trump's assessments, that suggested the US may reconsider imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for New Delhi purchase of Russian oil; however, he noted that these reports were still unconfirmed. 'And as far as we heard here in the mission after this meeting, which was, according to assessments by President Trump, very successful and very positive, I think I heard that he decided not to impose an extra 25 per cent on India, according to media reports. I didn't see other reports,' he stated. (ANI) This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content. Also read: Russia-India oil trade to continue, Putin to meet Modi in Delhi by end of year, says embassy official
