Latest news with #MeghShah
Hindustan Times
11-08-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
ED seizes luxury cars, watches, cash in probe against two brokers
MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized cash, high-end cars, imported luxury watches, and documents during searches at multiple locations in Mumbai and Ahmedabad linked to two related stockbrokers under investigation for alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). ED seizes luxury cars, watches, cash in probe against two brokers The raids, conducted on Thursday and Friday, targeted premises connected to Mahendra Shah and Megh Shah, officials said. The ED recovered ₹15 lakh in cash, four luxury cars — a BMW X6M, Bentley Continental GT, BMW 730LD, and BMW 328i — as well as imported watches from brands such as Rolex and Cartier, altogether valued at around ₹1.51 crore. Investigators also seized stamps and cheque books belonging to about 40 entities and companies. The material is being examined, the agency said. The FEMA probe stems from a March 2025 operation in Ahmedabad, when the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and Gujarat's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) jointly seized around 88 kg of gold — including about 52 kg bearing foreign markings linked to Dubai, Australia, and Switzerland — along with ₹1.37 crore in cash from premises linked to the Shahs in the city's Paldi area. Following that seizure, the ED launched its investigation and in April 2025 conducted searches at various Ahmedabad locations connected to the accused and their associates, recovering ₹23 lakh in cash and what officials described as 'incriminating documents.' The agency said the latest seizures form part of its continuing probe into suspected illegal foreign exchange transactions and associated assets.
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Business Standard
11-08-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
ED files supplementary prosecution complaint in Amtek Auto bank fraud case
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Monday said it had filed a supplementary prosecution complaint before the Special PMLA Court at Rouse Avenue, New Delhi, in connection with the multi-thousand-crore bank fraud involving the Amtek Auto group and its associate companies. According to the ED, the complaint, filed on August 1, names 56 accused — including group promoter Arvind Dham, his family members, chartered accountants, bankers, resolution professionals, and Mumbai-based stock market operators. The court issued notices to all accused on August 7 under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNSS). The ED probe, launched on the directions of the Supreme Court in February 2024, is based on Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIRs arising from complaints by IDBI Bank and Bank of Maharashtra. Investigators allege that the Amtek group fraudulently diverted loans from public sector banks, manipulated fixed asset valuations, and engaged in criminal misappropriation. Chartered accountants are accused of filing false audit reports, while bankers allegedly sanctioned loans for undue benefits and 'evergreened' credit facilities without following Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms — resulting in a spike in non-performing assets (NPAs). The ED has also linked the group to stock price manipulation of Castex Technologies Ltd., allegedly using siphoned bank funds to hire Mumbai-based operators to rig share prices, defrauding foreign portfolio investors of nearly Rs 1,000 crore. Following massive defaults, 15 group companies went into insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), with lenders taking an average haircut of 81 per cent — recovering only Rs 6,300 crore of total admitted claims exceeding Rs 34,000 crore. The agency alleges that before insolvency, promoters had moved assets through undervalued transfers to front entities and created nearly 500 shell companies to conceal properties worth over Rs 6,000 crore. According to the ED, it has so far attached assets worth Rs 6,261.37 crore — including earlier attachments of Rs 5,115.31 crore in September 2024 — most valued at book or circle rates, with the market value believed to be much higher. The supplementary complaint expands the scope of prosecution to cover the roles of promoters, senior management, auditors, bankers, resolution professionals, and stock market operators in what the ED describes as a complex web of loan fraud, market manipulation, and asset concealment. In a separate case, the ED's Ahmedabad Zonal Office conducted search operations at various locations linked to Megh Shah and Mahendra Shah across Ahmedabad and Mumbai on August 7 and 8, 2025. 'ED had initiated investigation against Mahendra Shah, Megh Shah, and others under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, on the basis of a case involving the seizure of foreign-marked gold of approximately 88 kg (out of which about 52 kg contained foreign markings linked to Dubai, Australia, and Switzerland) in a joint search conducted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Ahmedabad, and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Gujarat, at Flat No. 104, Avishkar Flats, Mahalakshmi area of Paldi, Ahmedabad,' the ED said in a statement. It further said that during the fresh searches, the ED seized cash amounting to about Rs 15 lakh, four luxury cars — BMW X6M, Bentley Continental GT, BMW 730 LD, and BMW 328 I — numerous imported luxury watches of brands such as Rolex and Cartier valued at Rs 1.51 crore, as well as stamps and cheque books of around 40 entities or companies.
