Latest news with #PreventionofMoneyLaunderingAct
Time of India
an hour ago
- Business
- Time of India
‘Substantial evidence': ED opposes bail for ex-min Mahesh Joshi in JJM scam
Jaipur: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Tuesday opposed the bail plea of former public health engineering department (PHED) minister Mahesh Joshi, who is currently in jail in connection with the multi-crore Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam. At a hearing in a special court for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED submitted that it had substantial evidence against Joshi, alleging that the proceeds of the crime were funnelled into a company owned by his son. The court will hear the matter on Thursday. On May 27, Joshi's counsel senior advocate Vivek Raj Bajwa had contended in the court that the former minister was not named in the initial FIR lodged by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) and argued that the ED failed to trace any proceeds of the crime back to him. Bajwa had argued that Joshi was being falsely implicated due to political rivalry. In response, ED's lawyer Ajatshatru S Mina Tuesday pointed to the four FIRs filed in the case by various govt investigation agencies, including one each by the Jaipur police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and two by the ACB. Mina told court that Joshi was named in one of these FIRs, which formed the basis of ED's enforcement case information report (ECIR). Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Provence-alpes-cote-d'azur: Voici l'astuce pour avoir des panneaux solaires sans payer l'installation ! Programme Ecologique Undo He elaborated on Joshi's alleged role in facilitating the approval of fraudulent bills for Shree Ganpati Tubewell Co and Shree Shyam Tubewell Co, and claimed he exerted undue influence on PHED officials to secure tenders based on a forged IRCON certificate. The ED further accused Joshi of directly benefiting from the scam's financial gains, which were reportedly invested in his son's company. Mina alleged that Joshi orchestrated the entire scam through an associate, Sanjay Badaya, and accused the proprietors of both tubewell firms of threatening PHED officials to ensure compliance of their demands, warning them of departmental transfers if they failed to do so. Joshi was arrested on April 24 when he appeared for questioning following a notice from the ED.
Indian Express
5 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
‘Loan for purchase of machinery re-routed', ED files prosecution complaint against Gujarat-based cold storage company
The Ahmedabad zonal office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it has filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) in the matter of M/s Avon Cold Storage Private Limited under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) before the PMLA Special Court on May 31, adding the court has taken cognisance of the matter. The ED, in a statement on Tuesday, said it had initiated its investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Gandhinagar, against M/s Avon Cold Storage Private Limited, its directors, and other private persons and public servants, alleging that the accused persons had, in criminal conspiracy, allegedly cheated the Union Bank of India (UBI) by means of falsification of records and providing false/forged documents, dishonestly availing the loan facility. The ED claimed its investigation revealed that the term loan facility was availed by M/s Avon Cold Storage Private Limited from Union Bank (earlier known as Andhra Bank) after allegedly producing bogus proforma invoices from another company. 'These credit facilities were extended for purchase of plant and machinery for setting up of a cold storage unit. However, the amount was not utilised for that purpose. The term loan was re-routed through different entities and withdrawn in cash to the tune of Rs 3.92 crore, leaving no money trail behind. The funds were further utilised for purposes other than stated in the loan agreement,' said the ED statement. The ED also said it had earlier provisionally attached movable and immovable properties valued at Rs 1.30 crore in the case, adding further investigation is under progress.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
ED complaint against cold storage firm
Ahmedabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday night tweeted about a prosecution complaint against a cold storage firm in a money laundering case. ED's Ahmedabad zonal office, filed prosecution complaints in the matter of M/s Avon Cold Storage Private Limited under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, before the special court (PMLA) on May 31, 2025. The court took cognizance of the complaint, tweeted the agency. News agencies indicated that the action followed an FIR registered by CBI, ACB Gandhinagar against the firm's officials and others to defraud a public sector bank. The FIR outlined the modus operandi as using forged documents and falsifying records to fraudulently secure a loan and later withdrawing it without a legitimate money trail. TNN & Agencies
Hans India
13 hours ago
- General
- Hans India
ED seeks info from MEA on visa granted to Pakistani citizen arrested in Kolkata
Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sought information from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on the visa granted to Azad Mullick, the Pakistani infiltrator who was arrested from Kolkata by the ED officials earlier this year in connection with fake passport and hawala rackets. Azad, originally a Pakistan citizen, first arranged for Bangladeshi citizenship using forged documents and thereafter came to India on a legal visa. However, after coming to India, soon he arranged fake Indian identity documents for himself, including an Indian passport. This was again done with the use of forged documents, and he even started running a fake passport and hawala business from his rented accommodation in the northern outskirts of Kolkata. Sources said that the ED sought information from the MEA on the documents produced by Azad, then as a Bangladeshi citizen, while applying for the Indian visa. The ED also sought the details of the staff of MEA who examined Azad's visa application at that point in time. Azad's original name as a Pakistani citizen was Azad Hossain, which he changed to Ahammed Hossain Azad when he managed Bangladeshi citizenship through unfair means. Finally, in the fake Indian passport, his name was mentioned as Azad Mullick. During his arrest, two fake EPIC cards, multiple fake driving licences, and four fake birth certificates were also seized by the Investigating Officers from his possession. The Investigating Officers are now probing Azad's possible links with different terror groups. Recently, the ED had informed a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kolkata that some highly sensitive information from individual and group chats in WhatsApp was secured from the mobile phones of Azad. These discoveries gave the Investigating Officers a clear idea of the individuals in neighbouring Bangladesh who were recipients of the money routed through Hawala from Kolkata. Considering that the activities and conversations in certain groups were quite suspicious, ED officials are now investigating whether the money routed through hawala to Bangladesh was used in terror funding or not.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Bribery case: Won't arrest ED assistant director for now, state govt tells Kerala high court
Kochi: The state govt has submitted before HC that assistant director Sekhar Kumar of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Kochi, would not be arrested in the alleged bribery case till June 11. The submission was made by the additional director general of prosecution (ADGP) during the hearing of Kumar's pre-arrest bail plea, which was adjourned by the bench of Justice P G Ajith Kumar to that date after the prosecution sought more time to obtain instructions from the state. The court also recorded the assurance given by the ADGP. The case, registered by the vigilance department, alleges that Kumar demanded a bribe of Rs 2 crore from Aneesh Babu, a Kollam-based cashew businessman, through two middlemen, in exchange for halting an ED investigation against him. Earlier, a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) had been registered against Babu, based on an FIR alleging that he collected advance payments from local traders by promising to supply imported cashew nuts at prices below international rates, but failed to deliver. Subsequently, two individuals, Wilson Varghese and Mukesh Kumar, allegedly approached Babu on behalf of the ED officer and demanded Rs 2 crore to stop the investigation. Acting on Babu's complaint, vigilance officials arrested both middlemen. During interrogation, they named Sekhar Kumar, leading to his arraignment as the first accused. Sekhar Kumar, however, contends that there is no evidence linking him to the arrested individuals. He maintains that he has been falsely implicated with ulterior motives and vexatious intent.
