File photo of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
| Photo Credit: PTI

File photo of Punjab Minister Sanjeev Arora.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Rana Kapoor, former managing director & CEO, YES BANK. File

Enforcement Directorate. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Bhopal:

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted raids at multiple locations in Madhya Pradesh in connection with a private firm allegedly engaged in producing and distributing adulterated milk products domestically and internationally using forged lab certificates.

The ED’s crackdown against Jayshri Gayatri Food Products Pvt Ltd and its director comes as part of larger action against alleged food adulteration and fraudulent trade practices.

Searches have been carried out at in as many as nine locations, including Bhopal, Sehore and Morena since early Wednesday.

The premises being raided are allegedly related to Kishan Modi, Rajendra Prasad Modi and others — the directors of Jayshri Gayatri Food Products Pvt Ltd, according to official sources.

The ED officials have uncovered 63 falsified lab reports that were allegedly used to export substandard milk products to several countries, including Bahrain, Hong Kong, Singapore, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“It was learned that forged lab certificates were used for the export of adulterated milk products to various countries like Bahrain, Hongkong, Singapore, Oman, Qatar and UAE. Searches are still underway,” the official told media persons in Morena.

According to sources, Jayshri Gayatri Food Products Pvt Ltd, which was established in 2013 in Bhopal, is a prominent manufacturer and exporter of dairy products with the brand name ‘Milk Magic’.

Apart from packed milk, the firm also manufactures various products, including ghee, khoya, white butter, margarine, etc. The company has established a significant presence in both domestic and international markets. Jayshri Gayatri Food Products Pvt Ltd has built a reputation for delivering high-quality dairy products to a broad customer base, both within India and internationally.

Authorities are examining financial records and other documents to determine the scale of the alleged violations.

More details about the raid and an official statement from the ED and the company were awaited.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai Zone, has restituted immovable properties worth Rs 289.54 crore to the Competent Authority, MPID appointed by the Government of Maharashtra in the case of M/s Pen Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd, an official said on Friday.

A statement mentioned that the assets were provisionally attached by ED under Section 5 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 as the erstwhile office bearers had cheated the banks and siphoned off the bank funds for private investments.

The investigation was initiated based on the FIR registered by Pen Police Station, District Raigad, Maharashtra. It was alleged by the LEA in its chargesheet that office bearers of the bank entered into criminal conspiracy with the then Auditors of the Bank willfully and intentionally manipulated the books of accounts of Pen Bank and fraudulently reported profit and caused a loss of Rs. 651.35 Crore to the bank.

ED investigations revealed that the proceeds generated out of crime of forgery and cheating was diverted and routed through the bogus cash credit accounts opened in the said bank using the services of cheque discounters in the market.

The statement further read that part of such Proceed of Crime (POC) was utilised for purchase of immovable properties at different locations in Raigad District of Maharashtra in the names of third parties (Benami properties).

“These Benami properties measuring 70.9 acres worth Rs. 25.20 Crore were attached u/s 5 of PMLA on 26.05.2014 and 03.12.2014. Further Prosecution Complaint dated 20.06.2018 has been filed in the subject case before Hon’ble Special Court, PMLA and the trial is underway,” it read.

“In the meantime, a Criminal Writ Petition bearing was filed by one of Depositor of Pen Urban Cooperative Bank Ltd before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court praying for release of the properties attached under the PMLA. The Hon’ble Bombay High Court vide order dated 07.10.2016 directed the ED to hand over the properties to MPID. Against the said order, ED filed a SLP before the Apex Court vide order dated 03.11.2017 which granted a stay on the order of Hon’ble Bombay High Court. MPID authorities filed an application u/s 8(8) of PMLA dated 01.02.2019 before Hon’ble Special Court (PMLA), Mumbai to confiscate the attached property to MPID for its restitution,” it further mentioned.

Pen Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd had 2 lakh depositors and 42,000 shareholders who have lost their hard earned money. In the larger interest of depositors and currently ongoing restitution efforts, ED took a pragmatic view and decided to withdraw the SLP before the Apex Court.

“Consequently an affidavit was filed before the apex court which was allowed vide order dated 13.12.2024 and SLP was withdrawn,” the statement read.

It mentioned: “ED thereafter filed an affidavit before the Hon’ble Special Court (PMLA), Mumbai expressing willingness to restitute the properties covered by the Hon’ble High Court order dated 07.10.2016. Vide order dated 14.01.2025, the Hon’ble Special Court (PMLA) allowed the ED’s application and ordered the restoration of 29 immovable properties which are presently valued at Rs. 289.54 Crore to the Competent Authority under MPID Act.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court has passed interim orders restraining the Enforcement Directorate from accessing and copying content from electronic devices seized during searches on ‘lottery king’ Santiago Martin, whose company donated the most to political parties through electoral bonds.

The Supreme Court has clubbed four cases involving NewsClick, Amazon India and others seeking guidelines on the seizure of electronic devices. The petitioners are seeking protection of their Fundamental Rights, particularly the ‘Right To Privacy’. The Supreme Court has issued notices returnable on February 17.

Money Laundering Probe Against Lottery King

Martin was the single-biggest donor to political parties, purchasing over Rs 1,300 crore worth of now-scrapped electoral bonds, through his firm Future Gaming. 

In November, the probe agency carried out searches in several states as part of the money laundering probe against the ‘lottery king’. At least 20 premises linked to Martin, his son-in-law Aadhav Arjun and associates in Chennai and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, Faridabad in Haryana, Ludhiana in Punjab and Kolkata in West Bengal were searched as part of a “comprehensive” action against his business empire.

The probe agency seized at least Rs 8.8 crore cash during the searches. It came after the Madras High Court allowed the probe agency to proceed against Martin when the Tamil Nadu Police had closed the primary case against him and a few others and the trial court had accepted the cops’ request.

In 2014, the CBI registered the case in the alleged lottery scam and filed a chargesheet against Martin and others. Based on the chargesheet, the Enforcement Directorate filed a complaint against seven people including Martin for money laundering in June 2018.

In April 2024, the Supreme Court stayed the proceedings before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan issued notice on Martin’s plea, where he challenged the order of the PMLA court in Kerala which dismissed his petition for keeping in abeyance the trial in the money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Future Gaming – The Biggest Donor

Santiago Martin’s Future Gaming and Hotel Services was the top purchaser of electoral bonds, which donated  Rs 509 crore to Tamil Nadu’s ruling party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. 

Future Gaming purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 1,368 crore, of which nearly 37 per cent went to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or DMK. Megha Engineering (Rs 105 crore), India Cements (Rs 14 crore) and Sun TV (Rs 10 crore) were other major donors of the DMK which was among the few political parties to disclose the identity of the donors.

In February, the Supreme Court struck down electoral bonds, which provided blanket anonymity to individuals and corporate entities making donations to political parties, as “unconstitutional and manifestly arbitrary”.

New Delhi:

Properties worth Rs 14,131 crore – that once belonged to Vijay Mallya – have been seized and handed to public and private sector banks to pay off a part of the fugitive businessman’s substantial debts, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament Tuesday.

Ms Sitharaman told the Lok Sabha the Enforcement Directorate had, in total, restored properties worth Rs 22,280 crore to pay back debts of wanted individuals like Mr Mallya, Mehul Choksi, and Nirav Modi, and that the fight against economic offenders is set to continue.

The restored sum includes Rs 1,052 crore from Mr Modi and Rs 2,565 crore from Mr Choksi. A sum of Rs 17.5 crore in the National Spot Exchange Ltd, or NSEL, case was also restored.

“In money laundering cases, the ED has successfully restored properties valued at Rs 22,280 crore… we have not left anyone. Even if they fled the country, we have gone after them.”

“… it is important to recognise we have not left (out) anybody. We will make sure the money… which has to go back to banks… will go back,” Ms Sitharaman declared.

The Finance Minister’s staunch defence of the federal agency follows question marks last week over its conviction rate; that low figure – less than five per cent over the past five years – provided Congress leader Randeep Surjewala with ammunition to attack the government in Parliament.

In response to a question asked in the House, Mr Surjewala was told the ED had filed over 900 cases under the strict Prevention of Money Laundering Act, or PMLA, from 2019 to 2023.

Of these, only 42, or 4.6 per cent, have resulted in conviction.

This, the Congress leader claimed, was proof of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s “witch hunt” against opposition leaders; the opposition has routinely accused the BJP of using federal agencies like the ED to file false charges against rival parties and politicians to silence them.

The low conviction rate was also flagged by the Supreme Court in August; the top court reprimanded the ED, saying, “You (the agency) needs to look at the quality of prosecution.”

Meanwhile, with regard to tracking down and bringing back ‘black money’, or funds illegally acquired and parked abroad, Ms Sitharaman said the Black Money Act (2015) has had a positive impact on taxpayers and Indian citizens disclosing foreign assets. She said the number of taxpayers disclosing such had gone up to two lakh in 2024/25, from 60,467 in 2021/22.

And, under that law, as of June this year, nearly 700 cases had been filed – and 163 prosecutions initiated – to bring back over Rs 17,000 crore. This, the Finance Minister, said, includes investigations into widely publicised cases like the Panama, Paradise, and Pandora leaks.

A multi-agency group is conducting a detailed investigation into these cases, she said.

Ms Sitharaman’s answers in Parliament this week also follow a sit-down last month between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil. Mr Modi urged Mr Starmer to expedite the extradition of Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi. India is also trying to extradite Sanjay Bhandari, an accused in illegal arms deals.

Vijay Mallya is the primary accused in a bank loan default case and fled India in 2016, while Nirav Modi is wanted by Indian authorities for defrauding the Punjab National Bank.

With input from agencies

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Bhopal:

A purported suicide note recovered after the deaths of a businessman and his wife who hanged themselves in Madhya Pradesh’s Sehore district has led to a slugfest between the Congress and the ruling BJP.

In the purported suicide note that surfaced on social media, businessman Manoj Parmar urged Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders not to leave his children alone and accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and BJP leaders of harassment.

The Congress has claimed that Parmar and his wife were party supporters, and the ED harassed them over their political leanings. The couple’s children had gifted their piggybank to Gandhi during his “Bharat Jodo (Nyaya) Yatra”.

Sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Akash Amalkar said the suicide note received by the police was in the form of an application.

He said the family members of the couple were still in mourning, so the police have not recorded their statements.

Talking to PTI, Amalkar said he cannot reveal more about the suicide note as the investigation is underway.

Parmar and his wife Neha were found hanging in their home in Ashta town of Sehore district on Friday morning.

The suicide note is addressed to the President of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and others.

In a note, which appears to be typed and printed, Parmar has urged Gandhi to take care of his family.

Asked about the mention of Gandhi and Congress leaders in the suicide note, the party’s state president, Jitu Patwari, told PTI, “Congress is a party of the public. We will take care of them. Which is why I visited there yesterday.” Patwari alleged that the Parmar couple’s death was not a case of suicide but a state-sponsored murder, as the ED was being used to harass leaders so that they join the BJP.

Several leaders joined the BJP after being harassed by the ED and other investigative agencies, he claimed.

In a post on X on Saturday, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath claimed that Parmar committed suicide with his wife because he was harassed by the BJP government and ED officials.

“Their only crime was that during our leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, his children had supported the yatra by gifting him a piggy bank,” he wrote and shared a news report about this case and suicide note.

Nath said the suicide note mentions harassment by the ED and pressure to join the BJP.

He said the whole case was more about wiping out an entire family than harassing a businessman to the point of suicide for political reasons.

Nath, in his post, urged Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to get the case investigated as per law and ensure strict action against the culprits.

Madhya Pradesh BJP’s media in-charge Ashish Agrawal had on Friday condemned the Congress’s allegations about the suicide.

“Doing politics over death is the old vulture-like character of Congressmen! The suicide of anyone is sad, but Congressmen misuse it only to further their personal interests. Before making baseless allegations, both Singh and Patwari and Congressmen should know the case history,” Agrawal said in a statement.

The ED’s Bhopal zonal official had, in a release, said the agency carried out searches on December 5 at four premises in Sehore and Indore districts in connection with Parmar and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The search covered the residential premises of the key persons who were the beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime or have actively aided or abetted such persons in a bank fraud case, the ED said, claiming to have recovered incriminating documents.

The probe agency said it recorded the statements of certain persons during the raid, and a bank balance of Rs 3.5 lakh was frozen.

Details of four immovable properties of the key persons were also found during the searches, it said.

As per the statement, the ED launched an investigation based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Parmar and a senior branch manager of PNB.

The ED has alleged that loans worth nearly Rs 6 crore were availed under the Pradhan Mantri Employment Generation Programme and Chief Minister Yuva Udyami Yojana. However, the funds were diverted to proprietorship concerns or firms and were subsequently withdrawn in cash for investment in properties.

The ED investigation is underway, said the statement.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)