Tag: PMLA Prevention of Money Laundering Act

  • Money laundering: Former Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh’s questioning continues beyond midnight 

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh’s questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case continued beyond midnight on Monday, November 1, 2021.

    Deshmukh reached the ED office in south Mumbai at around 11.50 am along with his lawyer.

    The 71-year-old NCP leader was still inside the central agency office as of midnight.

    The federal probe agency is recording his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the criminal investigation being carried out by it in the alleged Rs 100 crore bribery-cum-extortion racket in the Maharashtra Police establishment that led to Deshmukh’s resignation in April, officials said.

    ED joint director Satyavrat Kumar was seen entering the agency’s office along with some other officers at around 9 pm.

    The former minister had skipped at least four summonses issued by the ED in the case, but after the Bombay High Court last week refused to quash them, he appeared before the agency.

    The ED’s case against Deshmukh and others came after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booked him in a corruption case related to allegations levelled by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh.

    The NCP leader has rejected all allegations against him.

    The politician has said Singh made the allegations against him after he was removed from the post of Mumbai police commissioner in March this year.

    Earlier in the day, Deshmukh claimed a false narrative was being created by “vested interests’ that he was avoiding appearance before the ED.

    In a statement released after he entered the ED office, Deshmukh claimed a “witch-hunt” has been launched at the instance of certain “inimical interests”, by people who have absolutely no credibility, honour or pride.

    The NCP leader further said he has only sought a transparent, fair and an objective probe without any fear or favour.

    Slamming Singh without taking his name, Deshmukh said “unscrupulous persons” are themselves knee-deep involved in several rackets of corruption.

    “The principal person who held the high office of Commissioner of Police is now a wanted absconding criminal,” Deshmukh said.

    On Sunday, the CBI took into custody one Santosh Jagtap in connection with the case of alleged corruption against Deshmukh, making it the first arrest in the high-profile case, officials earlier said.

    The agency arrested Jagtap, an alleged middleman, from Thane, they said, adding the accused was evading the probe even after the issuance of non-bailable warrants against him last month. 

  • ED attaches Rs 32-cr highway resort in Punjab under anti-money laundering cooperation with Dutch govt

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: An over Rs 32 crore worth highway resort in Punjab has been attached under the anti-money laundering law as part of a legal cooperation between India and Netherlands, the Enforcement Directorate said on Monday, November 1, 2021.

    The multi-acre ‘Cabbana Resort and Spa’ belongs to a person called Shivlal Pabbi and his associates.

    It is located on the national highway number 1 in Phagwara, Punjab.

    The total value of the resort is Rs 32.57 crore, it said.

    The facility is a renowned venue for hosting luxury weddings, corporate events, among others, and is “managed by Shivlal Pabbi’s cousins Anil Kumar Chodha and Manoj Kumar Chodha”.

    Pabbi was arrested by the ED in the past and all the accused have been chargesheeted by the agency before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mohali in September.

    “ED initiated money laundering investigation against Shivlal Pabbi and others on the basis of a request made by the Netherlands government.”

    “…Pabbi committed cheating and forgery in the Netherlands on the basis of fraudulent and forged documents prepared in connivance with his Indian associates,” the agency said in a statement.

    Pabbi, it alleged, ran an “underground” banking/banking without permit or hawala business in the Netherlands.

    “The proceeds of crime generated by Shivlal Pabbi were laundered through Pakistani individuals based in Dubai, who transferred the money to him and his family members’ NRE accounts in Phagwara.

    “The proceeds of crime were invested in the development and construction of Cabbana Resort & Spa,” the ED claimed.