Latest news with #MutualLegalAssistanceTreaty
The Hindu
24-07-2025
- The Hindu
CCB takes over investigation into hoax email bomb threats; seeks inputs from other intelligence units
The Central Crime Branch (CCB) has taken over the investigation into the hoax email bomb threats sent to 43 schools in the city last week. The CCB officials have also held discussions with intelligence units to gain a fresh perspective on the case. On July 18, panic spread across 41 schools in the city, following bomb threats that prompted the schools to send students home just hours after classes had begun. The threats were later turned out to be a hoax. Four days later, two more schools in eastern and central Bengaluru received similar email threats. Although individual complaints had already been registered, the CCB has now taken over the investigation, including the two cases filed subsequently. A senior officer overseeing the investigation told The Hindu that they are determined to get to the root of the matter, and hence they discussed several interconnected issues with other divisions of the police department and intelligence units. According to a source, investigators held a meeting on Wednesday with the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the Internal Security Division (ISD), and the Anti-Terrorism Squad/Unit (ATS). 'The agenda of the meeting was to gather diverse perspectives on the case and brainstorm potential new strategies to approach the investigation,' the officer told The Hindu. The participating departments typically handle classified cases and possess historical data, which could offer leads and assist the investigation, another source said. The senior officer said that they received valuable inputs from these departments, but declined to share further details, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation. But the officer revealed that a request had been sent to the email service provider used by the suspect to issue the hoax bomb threats, and a response is awaited. The suspect also employed a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to mask their identity, the officer noted. Police are optimistic about receiving useful information from the service provider, as their preliminary assessment indicated a favourable stance. However, a senior officer experienced in handling cybercrime cases warned that relying solely on a response from the email service provider could stall the investigation. This caution is based on past cases where similar requests for information did not produce any useful outcomes. According to data reviewed by The Hindu, miscreants sent 53 hoax bomb threat emails to various institutions and establishments in 2023, 64 in 2024, and 20 in 2025, excluding the recent threats. Of these, fewer than 10 cases from 2023 have been solved, while 11 from 2024 have been resolved. All the cases that were successfully solved were relatively simple, as the threat emails were not sent using a VPN, the officer explained. Moreover, international avenues such as Interpol and the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) have proved ineffective for investigators handling hoax email threat cases. By the end of 2024, the Karnataka's Criminal Investigation Department had sent nearly 30 MLAT requests, but only seven received responses, and none of those contained actionable details, according to a CID source.
Hindustan Times
18-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
ED attaches assets worth £207k in UK as part of money laundering probe in cheating case
MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable assets worth GBP 2.07 lakh (around ₹2.3 crore), including a building and land, located in United Kingdom (UK) and belonging to one of the promoters of a real estate firm, as part of its money laundering investigation in an alleged ₹85.75 crore cheating case. The attached assets were in the form of agricultural land, residential flats, commercial shops and a bungalow, in Mumbai and Ahmednagar in Maharashtra. (HT Photo) The attached assets belong to Jayesh Tanna, one of the promoters of the Sai Group of entities and his wife, ED officials said. The accused entity and persons allegedly caused losses worth ₹85 crore to investors and prospective buyers of flats, among others, by siphoning off funds from certain redevelopment projects for their personal use, said ED officials. The attachments of the properties, including the building and the land, were done on Wednesday under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the officials said. The attachment order was sent to UK's authorities for execution through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between India and the UK, according to the agency. ED's investigation revealed that the attached assets were allegedly acquired by Tanna in 2017, the period when the crime being investigated by the ED occurred. Tanna acquired the assets by siphoning off a part of the case's proceeds of crime (POC), amounting to GBP 2.07 lakh, to the UK. The POC was allegedly generated by cheating and defrauding investors and flat buyers in the case, the officials said. ED registered its ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report) in 2024 based on multiple cases registered by the Mumbai police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. The Mumbai police's cases were registered against Tanna, Deep Tanna (the promoters of Sai group of entities) and a few others. Subsequently, the Mumbai police submitted their chargesheets in a majority of the cases they were investigating. ED's investigation so far in the case has revealed that the promoters of the Sai Group had allegedly indulged in malpractices involving the diversion of funds of flat and shop buyers, in a few of its proposed redevelopment projects, for their personal benefits, which resulted in the non-delivery of these projects. Such malpractices allegedly caused losses to buyers, old tenants (original society members) and investors of an estimated ₹85.75 crore in total. These projects in the probe were located in D N Nagar, Andheri, Kandivali and Goregaon in suburban Mumbai. So far, the ED has attached assets worth ₹35.65 crore in the case. Last month, the ED had attached provisionally assets worth ₹33.89 crore in the case. The attached assets were in the form of agricultural land, residential flats, commercial shops and a bungalow, in Mumbai and Ahmednagar in Maharashtra.
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
ED attaches Sai grp promoters, family's properties in UK
Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached immovable property in the UK belonging to Vinod Tanna and his family, in a money laundering case where they via their construction firm, Sai Group, had allegedly cheated flat buyers. The ED sent the provisional attachment details to the UK authorities through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty for implementation. The ED in a press release on Thursday stated their investigation revealed that the attached asset, comprising land and building, was acquired by Jayesh Tanna, in 2017 during the crime period by siphoning proceeds of crime amounting to GBP 207,000 to the UK, generated by cheating genuine investors and flat buyers in the case. The ED's investigation conducted so far revealed that promoters of Sai Group entities resorted to various malpractices to divert funds of flat and shop buyers in its proposed redevelopment projects for personal benefits, leading to non-delivery of the projects and causing wrongful loss to buyers, old tenants (original society members), and investors to the tune of Rs 85.75 crore. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Earlier, the ED had attached assets worth Rs 33.89 crore, including agricultural land, residential flats, commercial shops, and a bungalow in Mumbai and Ahmednagar. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Many Are Watching Tariffs - Few Are Watching What Nvidia Just Launched Seeking Alpha Read More The ED initiated investigations based on multiple FIRs registered by city police against Jayesh Vinod Tanna, Deep Vinod Tanna (promoters of Sai Group entities), their family members and others for diverting funds of purchasers in its proposed redevelopment projects for personal benefits, thus cheating buyers of Rs 85.75 crore in its projects in D N Nagar, Andheri, Kandivli and Goregaon.
Indian Express
08-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
In Thailand, UAE, USA: ED attaches 30 overseas assets in in Rs 4500 crore Pancard club investment fraud
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai has provisionally attached 30 overseas assets in connection with the Rs 4,500 crore Pancard club investment fraud, the agency said on Thursday. The attached assets, of which 22 are in Thailand, six in UAE and two in USA, are held in the name of overseas subsidiaries of M/s Panoramic Universal Ltd, Mumbai (PUL) and accused (late) Sudhir Moravekar. ED said that these assets were acquired by making total payments equivalent to Rs 54.32 crore during the period from 2002 to 2015. ED's action is based on the criminal case Mumbai police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) had filed. While the said properties are located in a foreign country, following due procedure ED through the Indian government can send a request under Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to concerned countries for further recovery of proceeds of the crime. As per Mumbai police's case, during the period from the year 1997 to 2017, M/s Pan Card Limited (PCL) unauthorisedly collected investments from around 50 lakh investors across India and failed to return more than Rs 5,000 crore to many of these investors. After thorough investigation, EOW filed a chargesheet against M/s PCL, PUL and other 44 related companies, 6 Directors of M/s PCL and 5 marketing representatives of M/s PCL under various sections of IPC, 1860 and Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act,1999. When the ED commenced their money laundering investigation, they found that Pancard Clubs Ltd. and its directors floated various investment schemes of different durations ranging from 3 to 9 years, with a promise of hotel discounting, accidental insurance and other benefits including high rate of returns against the deposits made by the public, ignoring prevailing norms of SEBI or Reserve Bank of India (RBI). ED also found Proceeds of Crime (POC) amounting to around Rs 99 crore were diverted from PCL to PUL apart from diversion of POC, to the personal accounts of family members of deceased accused Sudhir Moravekar, the agency stated in a statement on Thursday. The agency added that their probe also revealed that during the year 2002, a hotel in New Zealand was bought through Overseas Direct Investments (ODI) by PUL. The asset was sold later and the wholly-owned subsidiary in New Zealand was closed without duly reporting to RBI/Bank. Besides this, ODI investments were also made in the USA, UAE, Thailand, Singapore and remittances equivalent to approximately Rs 100 crore were sent during the period from 2002 to 2014. Assets were acquired in the name of these overseas subsidiary entities. It is also revealed that both the sons of late Sudhir Moravekar were planning to sell some of these assets in the USA and UAE.
New Indian Express
26-04-2025
- New Indian Express
Cyber crackdown: 383 pornography cases registered in Kerala since 2016
KOCHI: With timely police intervention effecting a significant drop in , the police have shifted their focus to curbing other forms of cybercrime, particularly the transmission and circulation of pornographic content. According to data with the Kerala Police, the cyber police wings across the state have registered 383 cases since 2016 related to the uploading and sharing of pornographic material online. Between 2016 and February 2025, as many as 175 cases were filed under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act for publishing or transmitting obscene content electronically. Additionally, 151 cases were registered under Section 67A of the IT Act, pertaining to sexually explicit material. Child pornography accounted for 46 cases during the period while 11 cases were related to the circulation of rape content. 'Public awareness campaigns on cyber financial frauds have made people more vigilant, which has led to a decline in such cases this year,' said an officer with the Cyber Operations Wing of Kerala Police. 'Similar awareness efforts will be extended to tackle other cyber offences. When it comes to transmitting obscene content, we conduct frequent crackdowns, and a significant number of offenders have been arrested.' Other forms of cybercrime also remain on the radar. Since 2016, a total of 69 cases of cyberbullying and 62 cases of identity theft or profile hacking have been registered. Further, 95 cases involved provocative speeches online, 40 were related to data breaches, 20 to email hacking, 45 to website hacking, six involved ransomware attacks, and six were tied to cyber terrorism. The officer highlighted the use of international mechanisms like the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to gather data from foreign-based digital platforms. 'MLAT enables enforcement agencies in other countries to assist us in collecting key information. We are also working to improve direct engagement with these platforms to support investigations more efficiently.' Despite progress, police officials point out that staffing remains a challenge. Kerala currently operates 20 cyber police stations with a total staff strength of 402, including three deputy superintendents of police, 27 inspectors, 32 sub-inspectors, 43 assistant sub-inspectors, and 83 senior civil police officers, among others. 'Given the increasing volume of cybercrime, the current manpower is insufficient. While regular police stations continue to register cyber cases, more complex cases are often forwarded to the cyber police units,' the officer added.
