Lucknow:

 YouTuber Elvish Yadav has been asked to appear before the Lucknow unit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on July 23 for questioning in connection with the money laundering case related to the snake venom-rave party case, registered against him by Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida) police, said senior ED officials.

Earlier, the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the snake venom incident, considering the significant amount of money involved in the racket in May this year.

M Yadav was arrested on March 17 and sent to 14-day judicial custody.

However, he was granted bail by a local court five days later.

A senior ED official confirmed that the agency’s Lucknow unit summoned Elvish Yadav on July 23 after he expressed his inability to appear before the ED on July 8, citing his foreign tour.

The official said Mr Yadav has been given relaxation and allowed to turn up later.

He added that Elvish Yadav’s close associate and Haryana singer Rahul Yadav, popularly known as Fazilpuria, was questioned for multiple hours at the ED Lucknow office on Monday.

Fazilpuria was questioned about the use of a snake in one of his popular songs.

Besides, Elvish Yadav’s other aides, Ishwar Yadav and Vinay Yadav, were questioned in the matter in the past.

On April 6, the Gautam Buddha Nagar police filed a 1,200-page chargesheet under the Wildlife Conservation Act against Mr Yadav and seven others in connection with the case, nearly six months after the FIR was registered.

The charge sheet describes how snakes were smuggled and how their venom was used at the parties.

While Mr Yadav had refuted the charges against him, calling them “baseless and fake,” police later dropped charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act against him, stating that it was a “mistake” on their side.

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

Lucknow:

The Lucknow unit of Enforcement Directorate (ED) grilled Haryanvi singer Rahul Yadav alias Rahul Fazilpuria at its Hazratganj office on Monday for more than 10 hours, an Enforcement Directorate official said.

Sources said Rahul Yadav, 33, is a friend of YouTuber and Bigg Boss OTT season 2 winner Elvish Yadav

The Enforcement Directorate questioned the singer regarding the alleged generation of proceeds of crime and the use of illicit funds for organising rave parties.

Sources added that he will be summoned again.

The Enforcement Directorate had registered a money laundering case against Elvish Yadav in the rave party case where snake venom was allegedly served.

The agency had filed the case after taking cognisance of an FIR lodged against him in Noida last month.

The Enforcement Directorate sources said that the bank account details of Elvish Yadav as well as properties acquired by him are under the scanner.

The Gurugram police had recently booked Rahul Yadav and Elvish Yadav for allegedly using rare species of snakes and a .32 bore pistol in a music video.

Haryana’s Jannayak Janta Party had fielded Rahul Yadav from Gurugram in the Lok Sabha election but he lost to BJP’s Rao Inderjit Singh.

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

Ranchi:

Ex-Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has been granted bail by the High Court. “Bail is granted. The court held, prima facie, Hemant Soren is not guilty, and there is no likelihood of the petitioner committing an offence on bail,” Mr Soren’s counsel Arunabh Chowdhury, told news agency PTI.

Given there are no other cases against him at this time, Mr Soren may be released soon.

Bail was reportedly granted on payment of two sureties of Rs 50,000 each.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 on money laundering charges. The ED has accused him of running a scheme to manipulate records, via fictitious transactions and forged documents, and acquire 8.86 acres of land in Ranchi worth crores.

Mr Soren has repeatedly denied the charges against him, and has accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of framing his arrest – which was weeks before the Lok Sabha election – to derail the opposition.

The bail order today comes after setbacks last month.

First, the Ranchi special court had denied Mr Soren bail.

That was followed by the High Court rejecting a plea to quash his arrest. The court pointed to an “abundance of documents that lay foundation for the arrest and remand of petitioner”.

Mr Soren was also told he could not “wiggle out of the mess he created for himself’. 

Following that the Supreme Court also refused interim bail; this was sought on grounds Mr Soren needed to campaign for his party, and the Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc, in the Lok Sabha polls.

READ | No Interim Bail Yet For Hemant Soren. He Cited Kejriwal’s Example

That setback meant Hemant Soren – unlike his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, arrested by the ED in the alleged liquor policy scam but given interim bail by the top court – could not campaign.

, the Jharkhand leader was forced to withdraw an interim bail plea after tough questions over non-disclosure of facts; the focus was on Mr Soren not revealing the special court – which hears cases related to money laundering – had taken cognisance of the complaint against him.

READ | “Misused State Machinery”: ED On Soren’s Top Court Bail Plea

In that hearing the ED argued Mr Soren had tried to subvert the investigation by “misusing state machinery” and so opposed his “special prayer” for interim bail to campaign in the Lok Sabha polls.

There was also confusion over a prior bail plea – dismissed – in the High Court, which then pointed to an

NDTV Explains | Hemant Soren’s 2 Bail Pleas And A Rap By Supreme Court

This was after the Supreme Court issued a notice to the central agency and sought its response to an interim bail plea filed before it on grounds the High Court was delaying delivery of its judgement.

Mr Kejriwal had been granted bail by the top court to campaign for the AAP.

READ | 9 Acre Illegal Land, BMW Car: What Report On Soren’s Claims

Hemant Soren resigned as Chief Minister on January 31, hours after the ED began a marathon questioning session and then informed him he would be arrested.

READ | Soren Refused To Sign Arrest Memo Until He Resigned: Sources

Mr Soren, however, refused to accept the arrest memo till he had quit his post, in order to avoid being the first sitting Chief Minister to be arrested.

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Mumbai:

Luxury cars like Mercedes Benz and Lexus, and watch brands like Rolex and Hublot apart from more than 140 bank accounts and lockers were seized after the ED raided a Mumbai-based business group in an alleged Rs 975 crore bank loan fraud linked money laundering case.

The searches were undertaken against Mandhana Industries Limited (now GB Global Ltd.) and its promoters on Wednesday, the federal agency said in a statement.

The money laundering case stems from a CBI FIR filed against the company, its directors Purushottam Mandhana, Manish Mandhana, Biharilal Mandhana and others based on a complaint filed by the Bank of Baroda for allegedly defrauding a consortium of banks to the tune of Rs 975.08 crore, according to the statement issued on Thursday.

Mandhana Industries Ltd and its directors “hatched a criminal conspiracy” to cause loss to banks and corresponding wrongful gain to themselves by “diverting” loan funds through fraudulent transactions and circular trading, it said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said the searches led to the unearthing of “crucial incriminating” documents including property documents.

More than 140 bank accounts, five lockers and shares and securities worth Rs 5 crore have been frozen and three high-end cars, including a Lexus and a Mercedes Benz, along with multiple watches of brands like Rolex and Hublot were seized during the raids, the ED said.

“Various fictitious entities were incorporated by the directors of Mandhana Industries Ltd. in the name of employees of the company for layering funds through the bank accounts of such entities.

“Suspicious third-party transactions were made to divert funds to the accounts of promoter/directors and their family members and bogus purchases were booked against payments made to different entities providing accommodation (hawala) entries, it alleged.

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

New Delhi:

Bank and demat account deposits apart from cash worth about Rs 37 crore has been seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as part of a money laundering probe against a Mumbai-based financial consultant and his company who are alleged to have duped investors of Rs 600 crore through a Ponzi scheme.

The federal agency said on Sunday that the action was undertaken after carrying out raids in the metropolitan city on June 21 against Amber Dalal and his company Ritz Consultancy Services.

The Enforcement Directorate case of money laundering stems from a Mumbai Police FIR that charged the Chartered Accountant and his company with taking money from investors through a “suspected Ponzi scheme that promised high returns.” Dalal “absconded” with this money after giving initial returns. It has been gathered that Dalal raised more than Rs 600 crore from 1,300 investors, the ED said in a statement.

He was arrested by the EOW, Mumbai Police and is presently under judicial custody, it said.

Dalal raised money from investors on the pretext that he invested the funds in nine commodities like gold, silver, crude oil, natural gas, zinc, lead, nickel, copper, aluminium and their trade, ensuring the capital is safe and promising an annual return of 18-22 per cent to his investors, the ED alleged.

Using the same modus operandi, he raised money from investors in UAE and USA as well, it said.

The search operations unveiled a network of stockbrokers, investment advisors who brought clients in lieu of commission. It is also found that payment received from new investment were being utilised to pay out the monthly returns to the old investors, it said.

Dalal “diverted” the funds received in Ritz’s account to personal accounts, which were further routed to family member’s accounts and used for creating assets, the ED said.

He “diverted” about Rs 51 crore to his personal accounts. These funds were used to acquire assets in India and abroad, it said.

The ED has identified eight such immovable properties in India and two abroad.

“Other than from banking channels, investments were made through cash as well, which was then infused in books as accommodation entries in connivance with Mumbai-based jewellers.

“Returns on such cash-based investments were given to investors in India and abroad (including UK, UAE) by hawala operators,” the ED said.

Cash, bank deposits, Demat account holdings to the tune of Rs 37 crore have been frozen and various incriminating documents, digital devices have been seized during the searches, it said.

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

New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has filed a regular bail plea before a court in New Delhi, which is slated to hear it at 2 pm today, in connection with a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam.

Mr Kejriwal was ordered to be released on interim bail till June 1 by the Supreme Court in view of the ongoing general elections.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court registry had refused to accept the application moved by him seeking a seven-day extension of interim bail to undergo medical examinations, including a PET-CT scan.

The Supreme Court registry said that the top court had already reserved its verdict in the matter and the application seeking a 7-day extension has no relation to the main petition.

As Supreme Court had allowed him to move the trial court for obtaining regular bail, the application is not maintainable, it added.

As per the Aam Aadmi Party, Chief Minister Kejriwal’s health has deteriorated since he was arrested in the alleged Delhi excise scam.

The party has said that he has lost 7 kg in weight after his arrest and his Ketone levels are also very high indicating a serious medical disorder.

The party has further said that the Chief Minister was required to do medical tests and seven days were needed for this.

Earlier, the top court had directed him to surrender back to Tihar Jail on June 2.

The top court on May 17 had reserved its verdict on Chief Minister Kejriwal’s petition challenging his arrest and subsequent remand by the federal anti-money laundering agency in the excise policy case.

It said he could approach the trial court for a grant of regular bail notwithstanding the fact that the top court reserved judgment in the matter.

(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 will not hear Arvind Kejriwal’s request seeking a 7-day extension of his interim bail in a corruption case linked to the Delhi liquor policy. The Court last month granted interim bail to Mr Kejriwal to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections and had asked him to surrender on June 2, a day after the last leg of polling.

The Supreme Court registrar, while refusing the plea, said that the Delhi Chief Minister was given permission to move trial court for regular bail, and hence this petition is “not maintainable”.

Mr Kejriwal had sought an extension on medical ground and requested the court for an urgent hearing today.

“In view of health complications and increased risk signs, a medical examination is necessary to protect him from possible long-term harm to during his prison term,” senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is representing Mr Kejriwal, said in the petition. He had also stressed that the AAP leader will remain “visible and available in public” while out on bail.

“There is no risk of fleeing the legal process and conditions set by Supreme Court (for interim bail) have been followed…” Mr Singhvi said.

The probe agency believes the Delhi Chief Minister played a key role in drafting the now-scrapped policy and seeking bribes, or kickbacks, in return for liquor licences. The agency has claimed the AAP received kickbacks of Rs 100 crore that was then used to fund its Goa and Punjab election campaigns.

The AAP and Mr Kejriwal have refused all charges and called the arrest and case “political vendetta”, coming as it did, weeks before the election. The arrest also triggered a political spat between the ruling BJP and the opposition INDIA bloc, which is led by the Congress and of which the AAP is a member.

Rana Kapoor, founder of the Yes Bank. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

A special court in Mumbai granted bail to Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor on Friday. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai, arrested Mr. Kapoor on March 7, 2020, for involvement in a ₹ 466.51 crore bank fraud. He was also charged with money laundering and eight other cases related to bank fraud. He secured bail in all the cases filed against him by the ED. Mr. Kapoor walked out of Taloja Central Prison at 7p.m after more than 4-years of incarceration.

Mr. Kapoor’s lawyer Rahul Agarwal said, “The case in brief is that Yes Bank Ltd was accused of misappropriation of the impugned loan amount and through Bliss Abode Private Limited (BAPL) had the sole intention of taking over the prime property at Amrita Shergill Marg (ASM) in New Delhi. Rana Kapoor had filed a bail application on the ground that the allegations in the chargesheet do not prima facie reveal his role in the case and no offence is made out against him. In the present case, Mr. Kapoor was sent to police custody on August 14, 2021, and had been in judicial custody since 21, 2021 in the present case.”

Criminal conspiracy

The court granted bail to Mr. Kapoor in the CBI’s case against him and Avantha Group promoter Gautam Thapar for alleged criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating and forgery to divert ₹ 466.51 crore in public money.

The other two accused in the case are already on bail and Gautam Thapar was released on bail without arrest. Rana Kapoor also stated that he was never the sole/final approving authority of the impugned loan transaction and the entire Management Credit Committee (MCC) involving other members had collectively approved the Impugned loan unanimously. Each member had a right to veto and no one objected to the sanction of the load despite an elaborate credit appraisal mechanism.  

“Some of the members of the MCC were named as witnesses by the CBI but are named as ‘accused’ in the PMLA offence by the ED and their respective statements were recorded by the ED. CBI’s main allegation in the chargesheet is that the property at ASM was purchased at an undervalued consideration is baseless and reliance was placed on various valuation reports which were either pre-demonetisation era or the valuation itself was defective,” said Mr. Agarwal.  

‘False claim’ in chargsheet

Mr. Agarwal also claims that the ED chargesheet falsely and mischievously portrays that Rana Kapoor was somehow obligated to disclose his wife’s interest in BAPL, and in the transaction with Avantha Reality Ltd (ARL), and that he failed to do so but Rana Kapoor duly disclosed to Yes Bank Ltd‘s Board of Directors that his wife was a Director of BAPL which is borne out in the chargesheet. 

“The chargesheet makes out a vague case that three loans were granted by Yes Bank Ltd to Avantha Group (AG) entities prior to and after the sale of the property to BAPL, that were not used for specified purposes. No connection was drawn by CBI between such loans and the sale transaction of the property, and none exists. Considering all this evidence, the court released him on bail,” Mr. Agarwal informed.  

New Delhi:

Former Delhi health minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain returned to Tihar Jail on Monday, hours after the Supreme Court dismissed his regular bail plea in a money laundering case, officials said.

“Jain arrived at Tihar jail in the evening. He was taken to jail number 7 after the formalities of lodging him in the prison were completed,” a jail official said.

The 69-year-old was medically examined before being sent to a separate cell in the prison, officials said.

Donning a green colour T-shirt and a back pain belt, Jain left his Saraswati Vihar residence in northwest Delhi around 5.45 pm to surrender at the jail.

Before leaving his house, he hugged his wife and other family members. He was accompanied by his wife and a relative in a car. Jain has two daughters. The other relatives came in another car.

The top court rejected an oral request by Jain’s counsel to allow him to surrender in a week’s time. The SC had on January 17 reserved its verdict on his regular bail plea.

Jain was out on interim bail granted to him by the top court on May 26, 2023 on medical grounds, after he fell in Tihar Jail’s bathroom. The bail got extended from time to time. In June last year, he also underwent a spinal operation.

Jain had moved the apex court challenging the April 6, 2023 order of the Delhi High Court dismissing his regular bail application in the case.

The ED had arrested the AAP leader on May 30, 2022 on the charge of laundering money through four companies allegedly linked to him.

It had arrested Jain on the basis of a CBI FIR registered against him in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act. 

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

New Delhi:

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday said it has attached flats in Noida and fixed and bank deposits worth Rs 2.18 crore in connection with a 2018 money-laundering case against journalist Upendra Rai and some others.

Mr Rai, the CMD and Editor-in-Chief of Bharat Express, a Hindi news channel, refuted the charges made against him and said he is “deeply shocked and concerned” with the contents of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) press release.

A provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been issued to attach these properties.

“The immovable properties are in the form of flats owned by accused Upendra Rai located in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, and movable properties are in the form of fixed deposits (FDs) and balance in savings account,” the federal agency said in a statement.

According to the ED, the money laundering case against Mr Rai stems from two Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIRs.

Mr Rai said, “I have challenged these prosecutions (of the CBI and the ED) and the allegations made therein and I am hopeful that the hon’ble courts will find no merits in these allegations” “There are no proceeds of crime in this instant case and attachments as well as the prosecution filed by the ED have no validity in the eyes of the law,” he claimed.

The ED press release, he said, has been made only to cause prejudice to “my case and to conduct a media trial”, which is unwarranted in law.

Mr Rai also said that the flats attached in the latest order “do not belong to me or my family members”.

The journalist was first arrested by the CBI and later the ED in May 2018. He subsequently got bail.

The ED investigation found that Mr Rai, his brother Narender Rai and other associates “were involved in extortion of money from various persons/entities by threatening action from investigative agencies.”

“The money so extorted was received in cash/kind in various bank accounts in the garb of consultancy services. The total money, extorted as proceeds of crime in the case, is to the tune of Rs 52.55 crore,” the agency alleged.

The agency had in 2018 attached assets worth Rs 26.65 crore in this case and filed two charge sheets that year. The total value of the assets under the current attachment is Rs 2.18 crore, the agency said. 

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