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FM Nirmala Sitharaman Announces Rs 14,000 Crore Returned to Banks from Mallya Asset Sales

December 18, 2024, 10:52 am

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Lok Sabha that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has restored assets worth Rs 22,280 crore to victims of various scams on Tuesday. This includes over Rs 14,000 crore returned to banks from the sale of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya’s assets. Additionally, Rs 1,053 crore from diamond merchant Nirav Modi’s assets has been restituted.

Action on Mehul Choksi’s Assets

The ED, in collaboration with several banks, has moved a special court in Mumbai to auction Mehul Choksi’s assets. Choksi, along with Nirav Modi, laundered over Rs 13,000 crore from Punjab National Bank and fled the country.

The special court has allowed the ED to value and auction Choksi’s seized properties, which are worth Rs 2,566 crore. The sale proceeds will be deposited in fixed deposit accounts of PNB and other liquidators.

Asset Restoration Under PMLA

In her response to the supplementary demands for grants, Sitharaman highlighted the ED’s success in restoring assets under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). She explained that once a trial begins and charges are framed by a special court, the assets can be returned to rightful claimants.

Sitharaman also pointed out that ED is effectively using PMLA sections 8(7) and 8(8). These provisions allow the return of assets to innocent parties once it is confirmed that they were acquired through illicit means.

Delhi HC Questions ED’s Evidence Handling in AAP Leaders’ Excise Case

December 4, 2024, 7:26 pm

The Delhi High Court has issued a notice regarding the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) appeal against a trial court’s order. This order had directed the ED to provide scanned copies of documents and digital devices, which were not relied upon in the case, to several accused individuals, including former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The ED’s appeal challenges the Special Court’s directive from October 9, which instructed the agency to supply copies of uninspected and unrelied-upon documents. The ED stated that its investigation is now complete, and as per the Adjudication Authority’s directions, it is no longer permitted to retain the seized items. With approval from the Competent Authority, the ED has begun returning the digital devices listed among the unrelied-upon documents.

On September 30, the ED filed an application before the Special Judge, seeking guidance on the non-inspection of these digital devices pending their return. However, the Special Court returned the application without issuing a formal order.

Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri’s bench has issued notices to all respondents, including the Aam Aadmi Party and its leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Vijay Nair, as well as businessman Sameer Mahendru and Amandeep Dhall. The matter is scheduled for hearing on January 30, 2025.

Separately, the Delhi High Court has issued a notice to the ED in response to a petition by former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. Sisodia, an accused in the ongoing Excise Policy case, is challenging the trial court’s decision to take cognizance of the ED’s chargesheet, citing a lack of proper sanction for his prosecution. Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri has scheduled this matter for hearing on December 20. A similar plea filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is also pending for hearing on the same day.

Several senior Aam Aadmi Party leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Sanjay Singh, along with other individuals, were arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy for 2021-22. They face charges of money laundering and corruption under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

ED Attaches Rs 31.94 Crore Worth of Land in Shri Lakshmi Cotsyn Bank Fraud Case

November 5, 2024, 8:40 pm

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) Lucknow Zonal Office provisionally attached 86 land parcels worth ₹31.94 crore in connection with the Shri Lakshmi Cotsyn bank fraud case. The attachment was carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as part of an ongoing investigation into financial irregularities committed by Shri Lakshmi Cotsyn Limited. The properties, primarily agricultural land, are situated in Chhattisgarh’s Bhatapara and Baloda Bazar districts and are registered under the names of the company, trusted employees, and other individuals.

Bank Fraud Allegations and Initiation of ED Investigation

The ED launched its investigation based on an FIR filed by the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in New Delhi. The case began after a senior Central Bank of India official filed a complaint in June 2021 against Shri Lakshmi Cotsyn Ltd, including key figures such as Mata Prasad Agarwal (Chairman and Managing Director), Pawan Kumar Agarwal (Joint Managing Director), and other directors and employees. The allegations involve cheating, criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, forgery, falsification of accounts, and misuse of public funds between 2010 and 2018.

The investigation revealed that Shri Lakshmi Cotsyn Ltd had sought loans from a consortium of 23 banks, led by the Central Bank of India, for manufacturing textiles. Due to mismanagement, these accounts were marked as Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) by individual banks. A forensic audit indicated several violations of loan agreements, including inflated inventory records, manipulation in the auction process, and undisclosed transactions with related parties. Further, the company allegedly provided unauthorized discounts totaling ₹207.29 crore to related entities and customers, with some transactions linked to fictitious addresses.

The ED found that funds from Shri Lakshmi Cotsyn Ltd were diverted to its group company, Shri Lakshmi Power Ltd, and subsequently transferred to individuals via an ICICI bank account in Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh. These funds were then used to acquire land registered in the names of trusted employees and local residents, many of whom were tribal people in Chhattisgarh.

Liquidation and Debt Recovery Efforts

Shri Lakshmi Cotsyn Ltd underwent liquidation under the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), and assets worth approximately ₹265.44 crore were sold to help recover debts. The case involves an outstanding loan amount of ₹7,377 crore, already declared a fraud by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The liquidation and attachment of assets are part of efforts to recover these funds.

The ED continues to investigate financial misconduct by Shri Lakshmi Cotsyn Ltd and associated entities. The current attachment of 86 land parcels represents a step in the legal and financial process to address the large-scale bank fraud associated with the company.

Delhi Excise Policy Case: HC Likely To Announce Verdict on Arvind Kejriwal’s bail today

June 25, 2024, 8:48 am

The Delhi High Court is expected to announce its decision on Tuesday regarding the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) request to stay the trial court’s bail order for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam. The verdict is scheduled for 2:30 pm. A vacation bench led by Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain had reserved the decision on June 21 after the ED contested the trial court’s ruling, which has been temporarily suspended pending the high court’s ruling.

On Monday, the ED opposed Kejriwal’s bail plea in the liquor policy case, calling the trial court’s order “illegal and perverse.” In a written response to the Delhi High Court, Kejriwal argued that discretionary bail orders cannot be overturned “merely on perceptions and fanciful imagination of the prosecution.” Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain’s vacation bench is set to deliver its verdict on the ED’s plea to stay the bail order at 2:30 pm on Tuesday.

The court had reserved its order on June 21 regarding the ED’s plea for a stay on the bail order. In its written submission to the high court, the ED claimed that the trial court, which granted Kejriwal bail on June 20, failed to consider any relevant material demonstrating the “neck-deep involvement” of the AAP chief in the money laundering case. The ED asserted that the AAP was the primary beneficiary of the proceeds from the alleged excise policy “scam” and accused the judge of making a “fatal error” by ignoring Kejriwal’s vicarious liability under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In its arguments to the Delhi High Court on Monday, the ED challenged the relief granted to Kejriwal, describing the trial court’s decision as illegal and perverse. The agency urged the high court to stay and overturn the trial court’s order, stating, “The impugned order passed by the trial court deserves to be stayed and set aside as the vacation judge has returned perverse findings in almost every paragraph of its order on both facts and law after admittedly not examining the material placed on record by the prosecution.” The ED also highlighted that the vacation judge overlooked new evidence against Kejriwal collected after 2023, including statements from 13 Angariyas, Goa AAP workers, and AAP office bearers.

BRS Leader K Kavitha Sent To Judicial Custody In Delhi Excise Policy Case

June 3, 2024, 11:11 am

In a significant development in the Delhi excise policy case, Rouse Avenue Court sent BRS leader K Kavitha to judicial custody on Monday, April 23. Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, was presented before the court by the CBI following the expiration of her three-day police custody.

During the hearing, the CBI informed the court that further custodial interrogation of the BRS leader was unnecessary. Kavitha was initially arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 15 and transferred to CBI custody until March 23. On April 11, the CBI arrested her again and placed her in Tihar Jail. Earlier, a Delhi court had reserved its decision on her interim bail plea, which she had filed citing her son’s upcoming exam, for April 9.

Before her arrest, Kavitha was summoned multiple times for interrogation but had skipped at least two of these summons. Last year, she was questioned three times, with her statements recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

During her recent custody, CBI officials interrogated Kavitha about WhatsApp chats recovered from co-accused Buchi Babu’s phone and documents related to a land deal. The probe revealed that ₹100 crores was allegedly paid to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as kickbacks to influence the excise policy in favour of a liquor lobby.

Kavitha is the third high-profile politician arrested in this case, following AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh. On March 21, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also became the first sitting chief minister to be arrested in connection with this case.

Allegations Against Kavitha

The Enforcement Directorate has accused Kavitha of being part of the so-called ‘South Group,’ which allegedly paid ₹100 crore in kickbacks to AAP leaders in exchange for nine retail zones under the now-defunct policy. Other individuals named in the ‘South Group’ include Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSCRCP) MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, his son Raghav Magunta, Aurobindo Group promoter Sarath Reddy, and Delhi-based businessman Sameer Mahendru.

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal: ‘PMLA is Pradhan Mantri ki Lal Aankh’

May 21, 2024, 10:35 am

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal asserted that the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) actually stands for “Pradhan Mantri ki Lal Ankh” (PM’s glare) and is unrelated to money laundering.

“PMLA is Pradhan Mantri ki Lak Aankh. It has nothing to do with Prevention of Money Laundering Act. It means you can send them over to ED who can do whatever they wish to do,” Sibal remarked during a candid discussion with ANI.

Sibal explained his reasoning behind calling the PMLA an arbitrary law, highlighting that the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), the agency responsible for enforcing economic laws, can arrest any suspect based on oral statements alone.

“If you want to catch anyone, you can send him over to ED and then take the oral statement of anyone. The person can say anything orally, claiming to whom any random property belongs, and based on his statement, the accused is arrested. The case is then left hanging,” Sibal elaborated.

He also pointed out another method of arrest under PMLA: “There are several ways of doing it. One of them is, you can go to a place that has land measuring five acres or two acres. You can take anyone’s statement claiming that this five or two-acre land belongs to the Chief Minister. You do not have any evidence. You serve a notice to the Chief Minister. You do not disclose the statement. You tell the Chief Minister that this land belongs to him, to which he disagrees. Following this, he is arrested. This is what is happening. Therefore it is Pradhan Mantri ki Lak Aankh,” he said.

The Senior Advocate also mentioned that sometimes the ED does not even have an “approver.” An approver is an accomplice who becomes a witness after the court grants them pardon in return for their testimony against another.

Sibal claimed that in some cases, the person who gives the oral statement later becomes an “approver” after multiple prior statements. “The approver comes only in his twelfth statement. In the initial statements, he did not take any name. He became the approver in his twelfth statement and he gave the money,” he noted.

Explaining why he previously referred to the PMLA as a “Frankenstein monster,” Sibal argued that the money laundering law is merely a “strong arm” of the government, used to arrest individuals based solely on oral statements.

“It is a strong arm of the government. It has nothing to do with law enforcement. There is no evidence against (Arvind) Kejriwal, or (Manish) Sisodia or (Satyendar) Jain. There is no money trail. Nobody says how much money is given to whom. There is no bank account or anything. There are just oral statements of people,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.

When asked why courts do not easily grant bail to those arrested under PMLA, Sibal responded, “Ask the courts. I keep on asking. I don’t get any response.”

The Opposition has frequently accused the Narendra Modi government of misusing central investigating agencies like the ED to target and harass political opponents.

ED can’t arrest after special court takes cognizance : SC

May 17, 2024, 9:31 am

The Supreme Court ruled that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) cannot arrest an accused person after a special court has taken cognizance of the complaint.

According to Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, the ED must request for custody to the appropriate court, which will only grant custody if it is persuaded that detention for questioning is necessary.

The court emphasized that if an accused person appears for further inquiry into the same offence after being summons, the ED must petition to the Special Court for imprisonment. The accused was never placed under arrest pursuant to Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), but the Supreme Court made it apparent that custody could only be approved in the event that it is determined that questioning under custody is required.

This ruling concerned whether an accused person under the PMLA must pass the demanding twin test in order to be granted bail, even in cases when the chargesheet is taken up by the special court.

In a money laundering case, Tarsem Lal, the petitioner, had challenged the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s December 2023 judgement that refused him anticipatory bail.

The accused who comes before the court in answer to a summons will not be required to seek for bail, the Supreme Court said in today’s order.

Senior Lawyer Siddharth Luthra argued on behalf of the petitioner that Section 19 of the PMLA prohibits arrests of anyone who is already named as an accused at the post-complaint stage without an arrest.

He clarified further that since the accused had not been arrested under Section 19 during the investigation, the Special Court would not be bound by the stringent requirements of Section 45(1)(ii) of the PMLA when considering their application for bail or bond, whether interim or final, when the accused appears in response to a summons or warrant.

₹36.75 crore cash seized in Jharkhand’s Ranchi; ED Arrests Sanjiv Lal

May 8, 2024, 2:23 pm

Following the substantial cash seizure of more than ₹36 crore in Ranchi, Jharkhand, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Sanjiv Lal, the personal secretary to state rural development minister Alamgir Alam, and Lal’s maid Jahangir Alam on Tuesday. They appeared before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, which remanded them to six days of ED custody.

On Monday, the ED conducted raids at the residences of both Sanjiv Lal and Alamgir Alam in Ranchi, Jharkhand. As a result, a total cash seizure of ₹35.23 crore was recorded.

Continuing its enforcement action, the ED conducted additional searches at five locations in Ranchi on Tuesday and confiscated approximately ₹1.5 crore from a contractor identified as Rajiv Kumar Singh.

According to reports, the counting process required almost 12 hours and six counting machines to be completed. Additionally, an official communication between the ED and the state government was found along with the cash stash.

The duo was presented in a special PMLA court on Tuesday morning and was remanded to six days of ED custody. During the court proceedings, the ED stated that the secretary of the Jharkhand Minister collected commissions on tenders on behalf of “some influential people.”

The ED further alleged that officials from the rural development department, from “top to bottom,” were engaged in an illegal cash payment nexus. Alamgir Alam, aged 70, distanced himself from Lal’s activities, mentioning that Lal had previously served other ministers in the state government as well.

According to the ED’s remand document, “It is ascertained that Sanjeev Lal takes care of the collection of commission on behalf of some influential persons and plays a pivotal role in managing the tenders and collection of commission from engineers.”

Akhilesh Yadav Slams BJP Over Kejriwal’s Arrest

March 22, 2024, 12:24 am

Akhilesh Yadav, the Chief of Samajwadi Party (SP), criticized the BJP following the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Directorate of Enforcement in a money laundering case related to the now-defunct Delhi excise policy. Yadav stated that the action against the AAP leader would spark a ‘mass movement’ (jan-andolan).

Yadav, in a post on X, also took a dig at the BJP, suggesting that the party is apprehensive about potential defeat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, and is “trying to keep the Opposition leaders away from the public”.

“What will those, who themselves are imprisoned in fear of defeat, accomplish by imprisoning someone else? The BJP knows that it will not come to power again. Overcome with this fear, it wants to remove Opposition leaders from the public eye by any means at the time of elections. The arrest is just an excuse. It will give birth to a new people’s revolution,” Akhilesh posted.

जो ख़ुद हैं शिकस्त के ख़ौफ़ में क़ैद
‘वो’ क्या करेंगे किसी और को क़ैद

भाजपा जानती है कि वो फिर दुबारा सत्ता में नहीं आनेवाली, इसी डर से वो चुनाव के समय, विपक्ष के नेताओं को किसी भी तरह से जनता से दूर करना चाहती है, गिरफ़्तारी तो बस बहाना है।

ये गिरफ़्तारी एक नयी जन-क्रांति को…

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) March 21, 2024

On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Kejriwal in connection with a money laundering case associated with the defunct Delhi excise policy, marking the second instance within 50 days of a chief minister being detained by the central agency, following Hemant Soren.

Kejriwal’s arrest immediately drew the ire of Opposition leaders, with top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleging that a “scared dictator wants to create a dead democracy,” while Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin remarked that the BJP government “sinks to despicable depths” after the “unjust targeting of brother” Hemant Soren.

Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien said, “A large number of AAP leaders and workers had gathered at Kejriwal’s residence who shouted slogans in favour of the Chief Minister. The election process has begun. And now this! Chiefs of political parties, CMs, political leaders, election agents, workers, every opponent- being harassed & arrested like this. What will be the fate of our precious democracy? LET US ALL SAVE DEMOCRACY FROM IMPENDING DISASTER.”

A significant gathering of AAP leaders and workers assembled at Kejriwal’s residence, chanting slogans in support of the Chief Minister.

His former cabinet colleagues Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain are currently in judicial custody in money laundering cases. Sisodia was arrested in connection with the money laundering case related to the excise policy. Additionally, AAP leader Sanjay Singh and BRS leader K Kavitha were also arrested in this case last week.

Kejriwal Challenges All ED Summons, Hearing Tomorrow

March 19, 2024, 11:31 pm

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has moved the Delhi High Court, disputing every summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) concerning the excise policy matter.

A bench comprising Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Manoj Jain is set to address the issue on Wednesday.

As per the legal representatives of the Delhi Chief Minister, all nine summonses issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have been challenged. The plea asserts that these summonses are unconstitutional and unlawful.

The plea has additionally contested the validity of various provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Kejriwal was granted bail by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Rouse Avenue Court last week concerning two complaints filed by the ED due to non-compliance with summons. Kejriwal physically appeared before the court during the hearing.

According to the ED, the agency aims to record Kejriwal’s statement in the case regarding matters such as the formulation of policy, meetings held before it was finalized, and allegations of bribery.

In its sixth charge sheet submitted in the case on December 2, 2023, implicating AAP leader Sanjay Singh and his associate Sarvesh Mishra, the ED alleged that the AAP utilized kickbacks worth Rs 45 crore, accrued through the policy, as part of its assembly elections campaign in Goa in 2022.

The now-scrapped excise policy was aimed “at revitalizing the city’s flagging liquor business” and replacing a sales-volume-based regime with a license fee for traders.

Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena initiated an investigation into purported irregularities within the policy. AAP has leveled allegations against Saxena’s predecessor, Anil Baijal, suggesting that he undermined the initiative by implementing a few eleventh-hour alterations that led to revenues falling below anticipated levels.

Two prominent AAP figures, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, are currently held in judicial custody as part of the case.

Sisodia, who served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi at the time, was detained by the CBI on February 26 after undergoing multiple rounds of questioning. On October 5, the ED arrested Sanjay Singh, who holds a position as a Rajya Sabha member.

ED attaches Rs 5.7 crore assets in Uttar Pradesh post-matric scholarship scam

March 14, 2024, 4:31 pm

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized properties valued at Rs 5.7 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the Uttar Pradesh post-matric scholarship scam, the agency announced on Thursday. The attached properties include the college buildings of the SS Institute of Management located in the Baksi Ka Talab area of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.

This latest attachment is the fourth in the case, bringing the total value of attached properties to Rs 15.7 crore. The SS group of institutes, which operates schools and colleges in Lucknow, conducts various management courses, including BBA and MBA programs.

According to the ED, the chairman of the SS group, Praveen Chauhan, along with Ishrat Zafari of the Hagia Group of institutes and his staff, forged documents for hundreds of students and fraudulently obtained Rs 7.40 crore in scholarship funds from the government. “Out of those, movable and immovable properties worth Rs 1.7 crore have already been attached,” the agency stated.

The ED’s investigation began based on intelligence and an FIR filed by the Uttar Pradesh Police in the scholarship scam. It was revealed that managers and trustees of various colleges admitted fake students and applied for scholarships in their names through the government portal.

“The scholarship so received for the fake PH category and handicapped students was transferred to accounts of colleges and thereafter withdrawn in cash or transferred to personal accounts or used for land purchases, building construction, etc., thus, their actions resulted in the embezzlement of more than Rs 100 crore of government money from scholarships by depriving the needy and genuine students,” the ED said.

Six accused persons have been arrested in the case and are in judicial custody. Three provisional attachment orders attaching various immovable and movable properties worth Rs 10 crore in the name of managers and trustees of various colleges have been issued. Additionally, one prosecution complaint and two supplementary prosecution complaints have been filed against five accused persons before the Special (PMLA) Court, which has taken cognizance of the same.

ED conducts raids in 8 locations in J-K money laundering case

October 17, 2023, 12:00 pm

In a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case against the RB Educational Trust, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched eight locations in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. These searches were conducted in the regions of Jammu, Kathua, and Pathankot by the federal agency’s detectives. The raids are related to a case that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is looking into. On September 12, 2020, the CBI submitted a First Information Report (FIR) regarding the situation.

A chargesheet was also filed by the CBI in the case on October 28, 2021. The chargesheet established offences committed by one Kanta Andotra, the chairperson of RB Educational Trust, and Ravinder Singh, then Patwari of Patwar Halqa Karandi Khurd and Muthi Hardo in 2011, who in criminal connivance issued three fards of more than 329 kanals of land during January 4, 2011, to January 7, 2011, without mentioning details in respect of violation of ceiling limit of 100 standard kanals imposed under Section 14 of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act 1976 thereby giving undue pecuniary advantage to trust.
“On the basis the the three fards, the trust acquired multiple pieces of land approx 329 Kanals vide three gift deeds executed on January 5, 2011 and January 7, 2011,” said the ED.