Supreme Court Refuses To Interfere With Arrest Of Ex-VVCMC Town Planning Officer In Money Laundering Case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (May 26) refused to interfere with a Bombay High Court judgment that upheld the arrest of former Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) Deputy Director of Town Planning Y. Shiva Reddy by the Enforcement Directorate. The case concerns alleged illegal constructions and corruption linked to development permissions in the Vasai-Virar area. A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta dismissed Reddy's special leave petition against the High Court's March...

CMRL Moves Division Bench Against Kerala HC Order Refusing To Quash ED Summons In Exalogic Case

An appeal has been filed before the Kerala High Court against a Single Judge's refusal to quash the Enforcement Directorate's money laundering probe linked to alleged payments of ₹1.72 crore made by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) to Veena Vijayan, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and her company, Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd. The appeal also challenges summons issued by the ED to CMRL officials. The appeal challenges Justice T.R. Ravi's May 26 judgment...

PMLA Appellate Tribunal Upholds Retention Of N.K. Proteins' Assets In 2013 NSEL Scam-Linked Case

The Appellate Tribunal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has dismissed appeals filed by N.K. Proteins Ltd., one of the entities investigated in the National Spot Exchange Ltd. (NSEL) matter, along with its associated entities and directors. The Tribunal upheld the continued retention and freezing of cash and vehicles seized by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the money laundering investigation. A bench of Members Balesh Kumar and Rajesh Malhotra held that the...

Supreme Court Issues Notice On Plea Alleging Jaypee Used “Facade” Deals To Divert ₹13,833 Crore Homebuyer Funds

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice on a writ petition alleging that Rs. 13,833 crore out of Rs. 14,599 crore collected from homebuyers by the Jaypee Group was diverted through transfers to group entities and undervalued land transactions. The matter came up before a bench comprising the Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi issued notice. “Issue notice, returnable on 15.07.2026,” the court recorded.Filed by a homebuyer in the 'KASABLANCA'...

PMLA Tribunal Upholds Freezing of Ex-HUF India MD's Assets, Says Money Trail Establishes Alleged Fraud

The Appellate Tribunal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on 7 May upheld the freezing of bank accounts and other movable assets of former HUF India Pvt. Ltd. Managing Director Sunil Kumar Garg and associated entities, holding that the money trail traced by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sufficiently established allegations of siphoning and routing of funds in an alleged Rs. 139 crore fraud involving the company. A Bench of Chairman Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari dismissed a...

Supreme Court Sets Aside HC Order Allowing Winzo Affiliate To Use Frozen Funds For Salaries

The Supreme Court has recently set aside a Karnataka High Court order permitting Winzo affiliate Zo Private Limited to withdraw money from frozen bank accounts for payment of employee salaries. The court held that once the company had been relegated to its statutory remedy before the Adjudicating Authority, the High Court ought not to have exercised discretion permitting withdrawal of funds. A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh observed the High Court could not...

Kerala HC Upholds ED Summons In Probe Linked To Payments To Ex-Kerala Chief Minister's Daughter's Company

The Kerala High Court has declined to interfere with summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate to officials of Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited in a money laundering investigation linked to payments allegedly made to Veena Vijayan, daughter of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and her company, Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd. Justice T.R. Ravi dismissed a petition filed by Cochin Minerals and its officers challenging an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered by the...

PMLA Appellate Tribunal Upholds Attachment Of Rashmi Prasad's Properties In ₹564 Crore Ritz Consultancy Case

Observing that Rashmi Prasad failed to prove that the ₹18.81 crore she received from Amber Dalal and Ritz Consultancy Services were returns on genuine investments, the PMLA Appellate Tribunal upheld the attachment of her properties in the alleged ₹564.33 crore Ritz Consultancy investor fraud case. The matter was heard by Chairman Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari, who said Rashmi's reliance on bank statements and other documents was insufficient to establish that she was a genuine investor,...

PMLA Appellate Tribunal Unfreezes Accounts Frozen Over Illegal Streaming of ICC T20 Matches By Magicwin

The PMLA Appellate Tribunal has set aside the continued freezing of three bank accounts in a money laundering case arising from allegations of illegal streaming of some ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 matches on the Magicwin website. The tribunal, presided over by Member V. Anandarajan, held that the continued freezing could not be sustained merely because the investigation was ongoing. “Other than a bland statement that there is a prima facie involvement of the respondent in alleged proceeds of...

Calcutta High Court Quashes PMLA Case Against Louis Dreyfus India In ₹234 Crore Bank Fraud Case

The Calcutta High Court on Friday (May 22) quashed money laundering proceedings initiated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Louis Dreyfus Company India Private Limited, the Indian subsidiary of Dutch-French commodities giant Louis Dreyfus Company. The case arose out of an alleged bank fraud of about ₹234.57 crore investigated by the CBI. The ED had alleged that the company was involved in circular trading transactions linked to three Letters of Credit (LCs) and had unlawfully received...

ECIR Cannot Be Quashed At Threshold As It Is An Internal ED Document: Patna High Court

The Patna High Court on 18 May held that an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) is an internal document of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and cannot ordinarily be subjected to quashing, observing that such a plea is premature unless it translates into a prosecution complaint or other actionable proceedings. Justice Arun Kumar Jha dismissed a writ petition filed by Rishu Shree seeking to quash ECIR-13 and ECIR-14 and restrain the...

Delhi High Court Directs ED To Release ₹1.54 Crore To Satyam Caterers Despite Pending PMLA Appeal

The Delhi High Court has directed the Directorate of Enforcement to release over ₹1.54 crore to Satyam Caterers Pvt Ltd, subject to a bank guarantee of an equivalent amount, in a money laundering case. The court held that the excess recovery could not be withheld solely because ED's separate appeal against the reduced quantification of proceeds of crime is pending. A division bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja set aside an order of the Appellate Tribunal under SAFEMA,...