Tag: scam

Will keep raising Adani issue inside and outside Parliament, it’s a big scam: Kharge

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New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said his party will keep raising the Adani issue inside and outside Parliament and added that if the government does not work democratically, “people will get rid of it”.
Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters here, Kharge posed a set of 10 questions to the government on various issues, including a controversy involving the business group headed by industrialist Gautam Adani and the expunging of certain remarks made by party leader Rahul Gandhi and him in Parliament.
Alleging that the Adani “scam” is a huge one involving public money, he wondered why is the government reluctant to order a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into it.
Kharge said he had not said anything unparliamentary in his speech in the Rajya Sabha and only asked certain questions on the Adani issue.
“Why is the Modi government not conducting a joint parliamentary committee probe into the allegations against the Adani Group? What is the reason behind (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji and his government not even allowing (anyone) to raise the word Adani in Parliament?” he asked.
“Why are the RBI, the SEBI, the ED, the SFIO, the corporate affairs ministry, the IT (department) and the CBI paralysed? So many scams have happened and why are they still silent? They only see other people but not him (Adani),” the Congress president alleged.
“Modiji is now using our Parliament like a washing machine to wash the scams of his friend,” Kharge later alleged in a tweet in Hindi.
He said it is the opposition’s job to ask questions of the government.

The people of the country have elected parliamentarians and it is their responsibility to protect people’s money and rights and ask the government questions on the impact of scams on common people, he added.
“But they did not agree to the (formation of a) JPC nor allowed us to raise the issue in Parliament and that is why our people are agitated.
“We will keep asking questions of the government in parliamentary democracy. But the government does not want to allow Parliament to function democratically and is talking of autocracy. If the government is not ready to work democratically and talks of autocracy and dictatorship, people will get rid of it,” the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha said.
“Shouldn’t the falling value of the LIC’s money, invested in Adani’s companies, be questioned? Shouldn’t questions be asked about the Rs 82,000-crore loan given to Adani by the SBI (State bank of India) and other banks? Shouldn’t questions be asked as to why Rs 525 crore of the LIC and the SBI were invested in Adani’s FPO, despite a more-than-32-per cent fall in Adani’s shares? Shouldn’t questions be asked as to why the value of the LIC’s and SBI’s shares fell by more than Rs 1 lakh crore in the stock market?” Kharge asked.
“Is it a fact that France’s Total Gas has stopped its USD 50 billion investment in Adani’s company, pending the completion of an investigation against Adani? Has the world’s largest equity investor, Norway Sovereign Fund, sold all Adani shares worth USD 200 million?
“Has the MSCI downgraded the ranking of Adani’s companies? Have Standard Chartered, City Group, Credit Suisse stopped lending against Adani’s dollar bonds? Has Dow Jones removed Adani’s companies from the ‘Sustainability Indices’?” he asked.
“What is the reason that Modiji and his entire government do not allow even the utterance of the word Adani in Parliament?” Kharge asked, adding that the country demands answers to these questions.
The Congress chief said he has written to the Rajya Sabha chairman over the expunging of his remarks. By merely expunging his remarks, the allegations made by people and the media will not be cleared, he added.
On his remarks in the Rajya Sabha and that of Gandhi in the Lok Sabha being expunged, Kharge said, “You can well imagine what is going on in the name of democracy.”
He said he was the floor leader in the Lok Sabha for five years and the leader and the deputy leader in the Karnataka Assembly, but had never seen verses or words like “washing machine” being expunged.
“The entire opposition is together on the demand for a joint parliamentary committee probe into the Adani issue. There is unity on this and everyone wants to save the country and protect poor people’s wealth,” he said.
Asked about the Rajya Sabha chairman’s role, Kharge said, “I don’t want to say anything, you have seen it for yourself…. If I say something, they will say I am raising questions on the chairman…. I have great respect for him. We want parliamentary democracy and that is why we are moving with sensitivity.”
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also alleged that “Parliament TV blacks out whatever Opposition demands and does”.
“Yesterday, Chairman of the Rajya Sabha chided the Leader of Opposition for not elevating level of the debate. He is of course silent at the way the Jagadguru of Jhoot debased it completely with cheap personal swipes at his opponents. Chanting ModiChalisa does not elevate debates,” the former Union minister wrote on Twitter.
Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after US-based short-selling firm Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, against the business conglomerate.
The Adani Group has dismissed the charges as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.
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#raising #Adani #issue #Parliament #big #scam #Kharge
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 10, 2023
Coal scam: Recovery amount by ED rises to Rs 1.25 cr

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Kolkata: With the Enforcement Directorate (ED) continuing with its search operation till late on Wednesday evening in connection with the multi-crore coal smuggling case in West Bengal, the cash recovery amount by the central agency has increased to Rs 1.25 crore.
Although initially the ED was secretive about the identity of the business house at whose office the raid was conducted, later on Wednesday evening it surfaced that the cash recovery was made from at the registered office of Gajraj Towers Private Limited at 5A, Earle Street in South Kolkata. Raids were also conducted at the residence of the owner of the company at the posh Ballygunge area in South Kolkata.
As per records of the registrar of companies (ROC), the directors of Gajraj Towers Private Limited, Vikram Sikaria and Suchi Sikaria, are directors in many other companies and have diverse business interests starting from real estate, food chain, commodity broking to exports, among others. Vikram Sikaria has already been detained by the ED for questioning in this connection.
Sources said that the central agency has got specific clues that the money recovered from the office Gajraj Towers was part of the coal scam proceeds which the said business was supposed to divert to different channels.
It is learnt that the team conducting the raids on Wednesday at the residence and office of the said businessman was led by three special officers of ED who arrived in Kolkata from Delhi especially for this purpose.
Sources said that the name of the businessman in question came from the examination of different documents and statements given by different businessmen in connection with the coal smuggling case.
Sources said that the names of some other businessmen on this count have also surfaced and similar raid and search operations will be conducted at their premises as well in the days to come.
It is learnt that recently a person named Ratnesh Burma, a close associate of the prime accused in the coal scam, Binay Mishra, surrendered at a special CBI court in Asansol. Burma was reportedly involved in managing the accounts of the coal smuggling proceeds. During the course of interrogation, he gave crucial clues to the investigating officials.

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#Coal #scam #Recovery #amount #rises
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 8, 2023
Delhi excise scam: CBI arrests Hyderabad-based chartered accountant

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Delhi: The CBI has arrested a Hyderabad-based chartered accountant (CA), understood to be the auditor of BRS MLC K Kavitha, in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, officials said on Wednesday.
The Central Bureau of Investigation had called the CA, Butchibabu Gorantla, to Delhi for questioning in connection with the excise policy case. He was arrested on Tuesday evening as he was non-cooperative and his responses were found to be evasive, they said.
The CBI has alleged that Gorantla’s role in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 caused “wrongful gain” to Hyderabad-based wholesale and retail licensees and their beneficial owners.
The agency will produce him before a special court here on Wednesday.
The CBI had questioned Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, in connection with the case in December last year.
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#Delhi #excise #scam #CBI #arrests #Hyderabadbased #chartered #accountant

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 8, 2023
Hyderabad: Scam in TOEFL, GRE examinations; 4 held

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Hyderabad: Four people, including a BTech final year student, have been arrested for allegedly indulging in malpractice in collusion with some candidates appearing for global exams like TOEFL and GRE taken at home, police said on Tuesday.
The four were committing fraud by giving advertisements on social media to enable the candidates get good marks in GRE and TOEFL exams, said a release from Hyderabad police.
Two of the accused used to help their friends by writing the exam. They lured students who have applied for the exam by giving advertisements on social media to get a good score by charging them Rs 20,000 each. Students applying for the exam have an option to attend from home, the police said.
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TOEFL exam in Hyderabad: Police begins probe over alleged malpractice
During the exam, the other two accused secretly used to take a photo of the exam paper and send it to their associates, including a BTech final student (of NIT Raipur), through Instant messaging platform. The BTech student would prepare the answers and send the answer-sheet back to them and they gave it to the students taking the exam, the police said.
In the same way, another accused from Hyderabad, who is absconding, also posted advertisements on social media and with the help of one of the arrested persons helped the students/candidates cheat and collected money from them, the police said.
Following a complaint on malpractice in Hyderabad, the city police booked a case and arrested the four from different places while some other accused involved in the case are absconding, the police added.

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) are crucial exams for admissions in top universities across the globe.
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#Hyderabad #Scam #TOEFL #GRE #examinations #held
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 7, 2023
Cong seeks Kejriwal’s resignation after ED charge sheet against him in liquor scam

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New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday demanded that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should resign as it said he has no moral right to be in office as the Enforcement Directorate has ‘clearly indicted’ him in the excise scam.
Congress leader and former Union minister Ajay Maken said a Rs 100 crore kickback has been established against Kejriwal and his ministers in the scam, and a PMLA court took cognizance of the charge sheet on Thursday and allowed that charges be framed against all the accused.
“The Indian National Congress demands the immediate resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, along with the indicted ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain,” Maken told reporters here, adding that they have no moral right to continue in office.
He said the money trail has also been mentioned in the charge sheet, leading to advertisements in Goa elections and cash payments to volunteers to carry out surveys.
Maken said a DANICS officer has claimed that the GOM report for a 12 percent margin for wholesalers of liquor trade was handed over to him at Kejriwal’s residence, where Sisodia and Jain were also present.
It is alleged that this report was handed over to him without any discussions, he claimed.
“From this 12 percent margin to the wholesalers, 6 percent is alleged to be paid back as a kickback,” Maken claimed.
He also alleged that the concessions by the Kejriwal government to liquor traders further caused loss to the exchequer, which include Rs 144.36 crore waived off from liquor license fee on account of COVID-19.

Besides, he said Rs 30 crore EMD (earnest money deposit) for Airport L-1 was returned and margin of profits increased from 5 to 12 percent. Still, a 10 percent enhancement from the licensee was not charged, he said.
The former Delhi Congress chief also said, “Delhi asks Kejriwal… Where is Lokpal?”.
Maken said one sees a ‘Kejriwal versus Delhi L-G’ every day in special sessions of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, in courts, on streets, and on trivial issues.
“But have we ever seen Kejriwal or the AAP protesting for Lokpal? In 2014, Kejriwal asked for the dissolution of the Delhi Assembly in favor of passing the Lokpal Bill. Where is that Bill now?” he asked.
“The Kejriwal government has ensured that even a weak Lokayukta is non-functional in Delhi,” the Congress leader alleged.
He claimed that despite being approved by the Lieutenant Governor, annual reports of the Lokayukta have not been tabled in the House since 2017-18.
Despite being approved by the L-G, the Lokayukta faces huge constraints of manpower and functionaries, Maken said, adding that the key post of Director of Investigation in the office of Lokayukta has not been filled.
“Ever since Kejriwal came to power, the Lokayaukta, in its reports, has been flagging various debilitating constraints being faced by it in terms of its independence, lack of powers, compromised financial autonomy, or non-availability of any machinery for conducting investigations, but all in vain,” he told media.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has claimed, in its supplementary charge sheet, filed in the court that a part of the alleged Rs 100 crore “kickbacks” generated in the scrapped Delhi excise policy was used in the AAP’s 2022 Goa assembly election campaign.
It has also claimed that a close aide of the Delhi chief minister arranged a video call through FaceTime (a video calling facility on iPhone) on his phone for one of the accused Sameer Mahandru.
In the call, Kejriwal told Mahandru that the aide is “his boy” and he should trust him and carry on with him, the ED has claimed.
Kejriwal has dismissed the charge sheet, alleging that cases filed by the agency are “fake” and are used to “topple” governments and buy MLAs at the behest of the Centre.
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#Cong #seeks #Kejriwals #resignation #charge #sheet #liquor #scam
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 4, 2023
Teachers’ scam: Judge agrees that Partha Chatterjee is ‘privileged’

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Kolkata: A judge of the special court of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday, during a hearing on the multi-crore teachers’ recruitment scam in West Bengal, observed that former West Bengal education minister and ex-Trinamool Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee was a “privileged” person.
During the hearing in the matter, judge Arpan Kumar Chattopadhyay observed that of the seven accused in the scam presented at the court on Thursday was sitting on a bench, while two others were standing.
Besides Chatterjee, the four others sitting were former president of West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) Kalyanmoy Ganguly, former chairman of West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) Subiresh Bhattacharya, former WBSSC secretary Ashok Saha and former head of the commission’s screening committee S.P. Sinha.
However, two middlemen arrested in connection with the scam, namely Prasanna Kumar Roy and Pradip Singh were standing in court.
“Why are they standing? I understand that Partha Chatterjee is privileged. It is all right that he is sitting. But if others get an opportunity to sit, then why are the remaining two standing? This does not look good. Everyone should have equal rights,” he said.
In fact, every time while objecting to Partha Chatterjee’s bail plea, the CBI counsel had given the argument of “privileged” and “influential” theory against him.
On Thursday, the bail application of Chatterjee and six others were rejected and all of them were remanded to judicial custody till February 16.

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#Teachers #scam #Judge #agrees #Partha #Chatterjee #privileged
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 2, 2023
Delhi excise scam case: Kavitha, others gave bribes worth Rs 100 cr to AAP leaders, ED alleges

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Hyderabad: BRS MLC Kavitha Kalvakuntla and others who the Enforcement Directorate called the ‘South Group’ gave kickbacks to the AAP leaders to the tune of Rs 100 crore, the 400 page chargesheet filed by the agency said.
“Sh Vijay Nair, on behalf of leaders of AAP has received kickbacks to the tune of Rs. 100 Cr from a group, for convenience, we may call it the South Group (as termed in the statements of various persons recorded during the investigation), whose prominent persons are Sh Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, Sh Raghav Magunta, Sh Sarath Reddy and Ms K Kavitha. The South Group was represented by Sh Abhishek Boinpally, Sh Arun Pillai and Sh Buchi Babu. Sh Abhishek Boinpalli facilitated the transfer of Rs. 100 Cr kickback in connivance and conspiracy with Sh Vijay Nair and his associate Sh Dinesh Arora,” the ED chargesheet read.
(This is a breaking story. Keep refreshing the page for fresher updates).
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#Delhi #excise #scam #case #Kavitha #gave #bribes #worth #AAP #leaders #alleges
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 2, 2023
Hindenburg report on Adani: AAP demands probe into ‘biggest scam’

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New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday termed the allegations of financial fraud against the Adani Group as the “biggest scam” and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order “a fair probe” into the matter.
In a letter to the prime minister, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh also demanded that the passport of Adani Group’s founder and chairman Gautam Adani along with that of “all the important people concerned” be also confiscated so that they do not leave the country till the completion of the probe.
The AAP’s demands came after a US-based firm, Hindenburg Research, last week released a report alleging that the Adani Group had “engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades”.
The Adani Group’s listed companies have lost over USD 70 billion since the January 24 report that flagged high debt levels at the ports-to-energy conglomerate and the alleged use of offshore entities in tax havens.
Modi जी का मित्र Adani बोला Hindenburg Report ‘भारत पर हमला है’
अब हर चोरी को ये बोलेंगे, भारत पर हमला हो गया?
जो करोड़ों लोगों को लूट रहा है, उसका भ्रष्टाचार उजागर करना भारत पर हमला कैसे?
सदन में चर्चा हो।
कहां छिपी है ED, IT, SEBI?
क्यों चुप है Modi सरकार?
—@SanjayAzadSln pic.twitter.com/6DpMI6OEqC
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) January 31, 2023
The group has denied all charges and threatened to sue the US firm.
“This is the biggest scam committed by Narendra Modi’s closest friend. Lakhs of crores of money of the investors have gone down the drain due to this. Allegations levelled against the Adani Group are very serious and cause of worry for crores of people of this country,” Singh, who is also AAP’s national spokesperson, told a press conference.
The AAP demands that “a fair and honest probe” be ordered into the matter so that truth comes out before the nation, he said.
“We also demand a JPC (joint parliamentary committee) probe into the matter. We will raise this issue during the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament,” he added.

Singh wrote to the prime minister on Monday, urging him to order a probe into the matter.
In his five-page letter to the prime minister, Singh listed the allegations levelled by Hindenburg Research against the Adani Group and said the US firm’s report brings forth “several serious examples and proofs of how the Adani Group and its affiliates are cheating the government, regulators and investors.”
With the US firm’s report, it has become “a very serious matter” and calls for immediate action, the AAP leader noted.
“It is our demand that after registration of a case in this matter as soon as possible, an honest and a fair investigation into each and every aspect be started,” Singh said in his letter to the prime minister.
The passports of all the important people concerned, including Adani Group’s founder and chairman Gautam Adani, should also be confiscated “so that all these people cannot leave the country until the investigation is complete and the truth comes out,” the AAP leader added.

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#Hindenburg #report #Adani #AAP #demands #probe #biggest #scam
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 31, 2023
Chhattisgarh coal levy extortion scam: ED attaches more assets worth Rs 17.48 cr

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New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said that it has attached 51 immovable properties worth Rs 17.48 crore in the illegal coal levy extortion scam in Chhattisgarh.
The attached properties include 8 benami immovable properties worth Rs 7.57 crore which are owned by Saumya Chaurasia, deputy secretary to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. The remaining 43 benami properties are beneficially controlled by Suryakant Tiwari.
In the same money laundering investigation, the ED had previously issued a Provisional Attachment Order on December 9, 2022 attaching properties worth Rs 152.31 crore belonging to Suryakant Tiwari, Sameer Vishnoi IAS, Saumya Chaurasia, Chhattisgarh civil service officer, Sunil Agarwal and others.
In total, the ED has attached assets to the tune of approximately Rs 170 crore till now.
The ED initiated the money laundering investigation based on the FIR lodged on the complaint of the Income Tax Department. Searches have been conducted and so far 9 accused have been arrested under the PMLA. All of them are in judicial custody.
The ED investigation has established that proceeds of crime of Rs 540 crore were acquired through this extortion racket. The extortion network was set up with the active connivance and participation of a large number of bureaucrats and higher ups.
The ED is investigating the entire gamut of the extortion racket.

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#Chhattisgarh #coal #levy #extortion #scam #attaches #assets #worth
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 30, 2023
Cattle scam: ED hopeful as Delhi court rejects Anubrata’s bail plea

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Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) probing the multi-crore cattle smuggling scam in West Bengal is now hopeful of taking Trinamool Congress strongman and the party’s Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal to Delhi for questioning after the Rouse Avenue Court in the national capital rejected the latter’s bail plea on Tuesday.
However, sources said that ED will have to wait for a decision of the Delhi High Court on this count.
“Mondal had adopted the path of approaching multiple courts to stop us from taking him to Delhi for questioning. Accordingly, his counsels moved bail pleas in both Rouse Avenue Court and Delhi High Court. Now with the Rouse Avenue Court rejecting his bail petition, the first hurdle is clear. We will now have to wait for the Delhi High Court’s decision on this count,” said a legal associate of the central agency.
Mondal’s bodyguard Sehgal Hossain, who was also arrested in connection with the cattle smuggling scam, is currently under judicial custody at Delhi’s Tihar Jail. Sources said that the reason why the ED is so keen to take Mondal to the national capital is to place him face-to-face with Hossain and question the two together.
The hearing in the matter was scheduled at Delhi High Court on Monday. However, it did not happen because of the absence of the judge concerned and the next date of hearing has been scheduled on February 2.
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#Cattle #scam #hopeful #Delhi #court #rejects #Anubratas #bail #plea

( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 24, 2023