Bride bazaar: 8 sheikhs from Oman, Qatar arrested for trying to marry minor girls in Hyderabad

Eight Arab sheikhs - five from Oman and three from Qatar - one of them as old as 80, have been arrested by the Hyderabad police in one of the biggest crackdowns on the city's underground network of supplying 'wives' to suitors who can pay. Three Qazis, including a chief Qazi from Mumbai, were also arrested who arranged fake documents to send even underage girls out of the country.

Tajuddin Ahmed a senior police officer, said it was not just the wealthy who come looking for brides here. The brokers classify them as 'autowala', 'ambassador-wala' and 'innovawala' - the third being the category who stay in upmarket hotels, he said.

"An elderly man has come with his son and friend to get married. He came with a marriage certificate. What he wants is a servant who he can use for other purposes as well," he said.

The police say girls were literally paraded before Arab Sheiks, a rate was fixed for them and the Arab would pick and choose depending on what he wanted and how much he could pay. One aspiring groom was 80. Another called Abdullah had sexually exploited as many as 10 girls in the name of marriage.

Last month NDTV had reported how a 16-year-old girl from Hyderabad was lured into marrying a 61-year-old man from Oman. Union Minister Maneka Gandhi had responded to her call for rescue and promised to bring her back. An investigation by Hyderabad police on that case led to the unearthing of a huge 'bride bazaar' racket operating almost like a mafia network.

A mother whose daughter was trapped in such a marriage two years ago says the brokers should not be spared. They lure vulnerable girls from poor families by showing them photos of a good life, malls, homes, she said.

"No girl should be sent out of Hyderabad. I know a mother's anguish. My daughter suffered. Don't spare the brokers, they lure you and trap you. Please stop young girls being taken out like this," she said.

Her daughter says she returned after nine months of hell in Oman. The husband who had shown dreams of a comfortable life in Oman, himself had a hand-to-mouth existence in Oman, she says.

"What I suffered only I know. For nine months, I was kept virtually locked up, without even proper food. I fell ill. I was even made to beg," she said.

Mahender Reddy, Hyderabad police commissioner, said as much as policing, social awareness was also necessary. "These unfortunate victims, once they land in Gulf countries, were exploited not just by the husband but many other men," he said.


As many as 35 suspected brokers, agents, lodges have been brought under the radar. They will be geotagged to monitor their activities. Other suggestions include ensuring that the age gap between bride and groom is not more than 10 years, taking the permission of commissioner or Superintendent of Police before conducting such a marriage, after arriving armed with a clearance from their country.

कालेधन पर बड़ी सफलता, स्विट्‍जरलैंड से मिली खातों की जानकारी

भारत को सूचनाओं के स्वत: आदान-प्रदान (एईओआई) की नई नियमित व्यवस्था के तहत स्विट्जरलैंड के बैंकों में भारतीय नागरिकों के खातों के पहले ब्योरे उपलब्ध करा दिए गए हैं। दोनों देशों के बीच सूचनाओं के स्वत: या स्वचालित आदान-प्रदान की इस व्यवस्था से भारत को विदेशों में अपने नागरिकों द्वारा जमा कराए गए कालेधन के खिलाफ लड़ाई में काफी मदद मिलने की उम्मीद है।
स्विट्जरलैंड के संघीय कर प्रशासन (एफटीए) ने 75 देशों को एईओआई के वैश्विक मानदंडों के तहत वित्तीय खातों के ब्योरे का आदान-प्रदान किया है। भारत भी इनमें शामिल है। एफटीए के प्रवक्ता ने कहा कि भारत को पहली बार एईओआई ढांचे के तहत खातों के बारे में जानकारी प्रदान की गई है।

इसमें उन खातों की सूचना दी जाएगी जो अभी सक्रिय हैं। इसके अलावा उन खातों का ब्योरा भी उपलब्ध कराया जाएगा जो 2018 में बंद किए जा चुके हैं। प्रवक्ता ने कहा कि इस व्यवस्था के तहत अगली सूचना सितंबर, 2020 में साझा की जाएगी।

हालांकि सूचनाओं के इस आदान-प्रदान की कड़े गोपनीयता प्रावधान के तहत निगरानी की जाएगी। एफटीए के अधिकारियों ने भारतीयों के खातों की संख्या या उनके खातों से जुड़ी वित्तीय संपत्तियों का ब्योरा साझा करने से इनकार किया। कुल मिलाकर एफटीए ने भागीदार देशों को 31 लाख वित्तीय खातों की सूचना साझा की है। वहीं स्विट्जरलैंड को करीब 24 लाख खातों की जानकारी प्राप्त हुई है।

साझा की गई सूचना के तहत पहचान, खाता और वित्तीय सूचना शामिल है। इनमें निवासी के देश, नाम, पते और कर पहचान नंबर के साथ वित्तीय संस्थान, खाते में शेष और पूंजीगत आय का ब्योरा दिया गया है। स्विट्जरलैंड सरकार ने अलग से बयान में कहा कि इस साल एईओआई के तहत 75 देशों के साथ सूचना का आदान-प्रदान किया गया है। इनमें से 63 देशों के साथ यह परस्पर आदान-प्रदान है।

करीब 12 देश ऐसे हैं जिनसे स्विट्जरलैंड को सूचना तो प्राप्त हुई है, लेकिन उसने उनको कोई सूचना नहीं भेजी है क्योंकि ये देश गोपनीयता और डेटा सुरक्षा पर अंतरराष्ट्रीय अनिवार्यताओं को पूरा नहीं कर पाए हैं। इन देशों में बेलीज, बुल्गारिया, कोस्टा रिका, कुरासाओ, मोंटेसेराट, रोमानिया, सेंट विन्सेंट, ग्रेनेडाइंस और साइप्रस शामिल हैं।

इसके अलावा बरमूडा, ब्रिटिश वर्जिन आइलैंड, केमैन आइलैंड, तुर्क्स एंड कैकोज आइलैंड आदि देशों ने सूचना नहीं मांगी है, इसलिए उन्हें खातों का ब्योरा साझा नहीं किया गया है। एफटीए ने बैंकों, न्यासों और बीमा कंपनियों सहित करीब 7500 संस्थानों से ये आंकड़े जुटाए हैं। पिछले साल की तरह इस बार भी सबसे अधिक सूचनाओं का आदान-प्रदान जर्मनी को किया गया है। बयान में कहा गया है कि एफटीए वित्तीय संपत्तियों के बारे में कोई सूचना नहीं देता है।

भारत के नागरिकों के बारे मे साझा की गई सूचनाओं के बाबत एफटीए प्रवक्ता ने कहा कि सांख्यिकी आंकड़े भी गोपनीयता के प्रावधान के तहत आते हैं। एफटीए ने कहा कि अगले साल इस व्यवस्था के तहत 90 देशों के साथ सूचनाओं का आदान-प्रदान किया जाएगा।

स्विट्जरलैंड में एईओआई को कानूनी आधार पर पहली बार एक जनवरी, 2017 को क्रियान्वित किया गया था। आदान-प्रदान के जरिए हासिल सूचनाओं के जरिए कर अधिकारी इस बात का पता लगा सकते हैं कि क्या करदाता ने अपने कर रिटर्न में विदेशों में अपने वित्तीय खाते का सही ब्योरा दिया है।

इस व्यवस्था के तहत पहली बार सूचना का आदान-प्रदान सितंबर, 2018 में 36 देशों के साथ किया गया था। आर्थिक सहयोग एवं विकास संगठन का वैश्विक मंच एईआईओ के क्रियान्वयन की समीक्षा करता है। विशेषज्ञों का कहना है कि इन सूचनाओं के आधार पर भारत बेहिसाबी धन रखने वाले लोगों के खिलाफ अभियोजन का ठोस मामला बना सकता है।

कई अधिकारियों ने नाम न बताने की शर्त पर कहा कि इस सूची में ज्यादातर उद्योगपतियों के नाम है। इनमें प्रवासी भारतीय (एनआरआई) भी शामिल हैं जो दक्षिण-पूर्व एशियाई देशों, अमेरिका और ब्रिटेन के साथ कुछ अफ्रीकी और दक्षिण अमेरिकी देशों में बस चुके हैं।

Rise and fall of Wadhawans, once toast of city party circuit

The father-son duo of Rakesh and Sarang (Sunny) Wadhawan were among the most powerful and politically connected builders during the Congress-NCP rule.


Their fortunes rose around the time the property market was beginning to heat up in 2003.

Their proximity to several chief ministers and particularly two former Congress MLAs from the western suburbs was a subject of discussion in political circles.

“They were among those builders who moved around with gun-toting security guards and were much feared by their competitors in the real estate industry. It was always rumoured that housing policies generally favoured HDIL, especially when it came to cornering large slum redevelopment projects in Mumbai,” said a developer.

Its biggest bonanza came in 2007 when it bagged the rights to rehouse slumdwellers living on the periphery of the city airport. The builder is believed to have earned Rs 2,000 crore in the form of transfer of development rights (TDR) from this project alone to construct free houses for the slum dwellers. Till date, the encroachers continue to occupy the airport land.

Old-timers in the industry say the Wadhawan family, initially from Delhi, moved to Mumbai in the 1950s.

They found a foothold in the world of construction and land dealings in Vasai-Virar some time in the 1980s when gangster Bhai Thakur ruled the roost in this belt.

By 2010, Forbes featured Rakesh Wadhawan and family on its list of Indian billionaires with a net worth of $1 billion. A year earlier, the Wadhawan family divided its business. Rakesh and his son Sunny retained HDIL while Rakesh’s nephews, Kapil and Dheeraj, launched a new construction firm and took control of Dewan Housing Finance.

Sunny and wife Anu were the toast of B-Town, known for their lavish parties, and were frequently featured as a glam couple in celebrity magazines. Father Rakesh once told this correspondent that his weakness was owning race horses; he was regularly seen at the Mahalaxmi racecourse on big days.

Over a decade ago, sitting in the lobby of a five-star hotel, he took out his diamondencrusted watch to show this correspondent. On Thursday night, the Wadhawans were in the police lockup in the commissionerate compound near Crawford Market.

Now, PMC Bank withdrawal limit increased to ₹25,000 from ₹10,000

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased the withdrawal limit for depositors of Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank on Thursday to Rs 25,000 from Rs 10,000 earlier.


On Thursday again, the central bank decided to appoint a three-member committee to assist the bank administrator.

According to RBI, the increase in the limit will enable 70% of the bank’s depositors to withdraw their entire account balance. RBI had placed lending restrictions on the troubled cooperative bank on September 23, restricting withdrawal to Rs 1,000. This limit was increased to Rs 10,000 three days later.

RBI said the decision has been taken after reviewing the bank’s liquidity position and to reduce the hardships faced by depositors.

It reassured depositors that the position continued to be under review and RBI will continue to take necessary steps in the interest of depositors.

A quick resolution will also depend on the fraud-struck bank’s ability to recover funds from its biggest borrower—HDIL group.

Both the bank’s management and the RBI-appointed administrator J B Bhoria said the bank had enough securities against loans.

The administrator has been appointed to operate the bank after the central bank superseded the board using its powers under Section 35 of the Banking Regulation Act.

Bankers said deposits of up to Rs 1 lakh are insured but customers will have to wait until resolution of the case.

Given the size of the bank and the number of institutional accounts, RBI is expected to come out with a resolution quickly to ensure the problems do not pass on to other institutions.

The bank has deposits of 216 urban cooperative banks, 1,754 cooperative credit societies, and 15,000 cooperative housing societies and other institutions. These include deposits totalling Rs 100 crore of the RBI officers cooperative credit society.

HDIL’s father-son promoters arrested in PMC Bank fraud

Builder Group’s ₹3.5k-Cr Assets ‘Attached’: EOW


Rakesh Wadhawan, executive chairman of HDIL, and his son Sarang aka Sunny, vice-chairman and MD of the real estate group, were arrested on Thursday over their alleged role in the Rs 4,356-crore Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank fraud. The city police’s economic offences wing (EOW) has also provisionally attached residential and commercial projects and land parcels worth over Rs 3,500 crore.


The duo was initially summoned to the EOW headquarters on the police commissionerate compound near Crawford Market. The two reportedly did not cooperate and were placed under arrest on allegations of cheating and criminal conspiracy, according to police officials. “Their interrogation is on,” said EOW chief Rajvardhan Sinha.

Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL), which is facing bankruptcy proceedings, and its group companies had taken huge loans from PMC Bank in violation of RBI norms.


PMCB withdrawal limit hiked to ₹25k
RBI on Thursday raised the withdrawal limit for PMC Bank depositors to Rs 25,000 from Rs 10,000. The decision, which will enable 70% of the bank’s customers withdraw their entire balance, is aimed at reducing the hardship of depositors, the RBI said, adding that it came after reviewing the bank’s liquidity position. P 2

EOW searches ex-PMC Bank chairman home

As on March 31, the outstanding loan amount against Rakesh Wadhwan was Rs 1,903 crore and his son Rs 129 crore. That apart, HDIL group had been granted loans totalling Rs 1,306 crore.

The FIR lodged by Jasbir Singh Matta, manager, recovery department, PMC Bank, said the wrongfully advanced loans amounted to Rs 4,355.5 crore. RBI sources said the group’s final total exposure in the bank is yet to be assessed. As many as 21,049 fictitious accounts were allegedly created to hide loans, which the bank disbursed in violation of RBI norms. By doing this, it managed to prevent the loans from showing up as large exposures in its core banking system and avoided RBI probe.

Joy Thomas, suspended MD of PMC, had on September 19 written to the RBI placing the bank’s exposure to the group at over Rs 6,500 crore, representing almost three-fourths of its assets of Rs 8,800 crore, and four times the regulatory cap. Police said they were verifying the titles of the attached properties. “We will file an application before the court to attach these properties which were submitted as collateral with PMC Bank alone and no other bank,” said an officer.

EOW’s special investigation team on Thursday searched the residence of Waryam Singh, former bank chairman, and found details of his demat account. “We have frozen Singh’s Rs 100 crore demat account,” said an officer. Investigators said 44 accounts opened in the name of the accused, HDIL, and entities belonging to the accused, were found to be password-protected. Some of these accounts were opened as early as in 2008. “These accounts were not fouind in bank records. They could be accessed only with passwords by certain confidantes of Thomas. We are interrogating them,” said an officer. Wadhwans are being interrogated by DCP Shrikant Paropkari and inspector Kishor Parab.

Custody extended, P Chidambaram moves SC for bail

On a day a Delhi court extended his judicial custody until October 17, former finance minister P Chidambaram moved the Supreme Court seeking bail in the INX Media case. He alleged that the CBI was trying to prolong his judicial custody to humiliate him, and urged that the principle ‘bail is the rule, jail is the exception’ be followed in his case. The former minister has, however, been allowed home-cooked food.


The Congress veteran said the Delhi HC had erred in denying him bail on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations. Appearing for him, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and A M Singhvi urged the SC to list the plea for urgent hearing as Chidambaram had been in custody for 42 days and the SC would break for Durga Puja vacation next week.


No court relief for Chinmayanand too
A Bareilly court has extended the judicial custody of former minister Chinmayanand, accused of rape by a UP law student, by 14 days till October 16. Saying Chinmayanand had health issues, his lawyer pleaded that he be shifted from Shahjahanpur jail. P 8

Judicial custody being used as pre-trial punishment: PC

Chidambaram’s plea for bail has been listed for hearing before an SC bench of Justices R Banumathi and Hrishikesh Roy on Friday. On September 5, a bench headed by Justice Banumathi had denied anticipatory bail to P Chidambaram in the INX Media money laundering case lodged by the ED.

On Thursday, a Delhi court accepted his plea for home food in jail after Sibal and Singhvi listed out a series of ailments that required him to consume home-cooked food. “He is 74 years of age... is suffering from inflammation of his digestive tract. In these circumstances, it may be conducive to his health condition that he is provided home-cooked food once a day to avoid further deterioration in his health condition,” special judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar said. The court, however, clarified that the order could not to be taken as a precedent as the concession for home food was given in the specific circumstances and keeping his medical condition in mind.

In the SC, Sibal and Singhvi argued that the Delhi HC had erred by relying upon “anonymous and unverified allegations” while rejecting Chidambaram’s bail plea on September 30.

“Bail is the rule, jail is the exception. Arrest and custody are a humiliation and social stigma. The prosecution seems to think that prolonged judicial custody is a punishment they can impose on the petitioner. Court should frown upon the attempt of the prosecution to use judicial custody as kind of pre-trial punishment,” Chidambaram said. He also cited his frail health and said he was agreeable to any condition by the court for granting him bail.

Five SC judges recuse from Navlakha case in four days

None Of Them Gives Reason For Doing So


Justice S Ravindra Bhat on Thursday became the fifth Supreme Court judge to decline to hear activist Gautam Navlakha’s plea for quashing of an FIR against him in the Elgar Parishad case.


Navlakha had moved the Supreme Court against the Bombay high court’s September 13 verdict that refused to quash the FIR lodged against him in the case for alleged Maoist links after noting that there was prima facie substance in the case.

With Navlakha’s protection from arrest ending on Friday, the SC agreed to his counsel senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s request that his plea for scrapping the FIR be listed on Friday.

Navlakha’s petition was first listed on September 30 before a bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi who recused himself from hearing the case. His plea was then listed before a bench of Justices N V Ramana, R Subhash Reddy and B R Gavai and all three judges recused themselves and asked the CJI to list the case before another bench.

The recusal by the judges is fairly unprecedented. The case was assigned to a bench of Justices Arun Mishra, Vineet Saran and S Ravindra Bhat. When the case was taken up for hearing, Justice Bhat became the fifth judge to recuse himself in four days.

None of the five judges gave any reason for their withdrawing from hearing the case, but Singhvi said Justice Bhat may have appeared as a lawyer for the organisation with which Navlakha was associated.


‘Justice Bhat’s decision to recuse understandable’

It is quite understandable that Justice Bhat recused himself either because he had appeared as counsel for or was a member of People’s Union for Democratic Rights,” Singhvi said.

Judges have recused when there is either a conflict of interest or in cases where they had appeared for any one of the parties while practising as a lawyer. Recently, Justice U U Lalit recused himself from the Ayodhya land dispute case as he had appeared for one of the persons accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case.

Retired Justice Markandey Katju had recused from Novartis case on grounds that he had written an article on grant of pharma patents.

Former CJI S H Kapadia had expressed unwillingness to hear a case involving Vedanta on the ground that he owned some shares of the company but the lawyers had insisted that they did not have any objection if a bench comprising him adjudicated the dispute.

How Heera Gold scammed over 1.75 lakh people using faith and a web of deception Whistleblowers are calling for a CBI probe saying the number of victims of Nowhera Shaikh's Heera Gold could be much higher.

Shaba Afreen, a media professional, invested Rs 20 lakh in Heera Gold of Companies in 2016. A resident of Tolichowki in Hyderabad, and a single mother of three, Afreen in 2018 found herself on the streets along with her children, when the company stopped paying monthly dividends, and refused to let her withdraw her investment. She had fallen victim to a halal ponzi scheme that has scammed thousands of people across India and the world.

"That Rs 20 lakh was my life's savings. It's all gone now," Afreen says, “I was introduced to Heera Gold by a trusted friend, who had invested Rs 1 lakh and was earning Rs 3,000 a month. I went to the Heera Gold office in Hyderabad. They painted a picture of a multinational company with investors and companies across the world. I enquired with people and they all had only positive things to say about Heera Gold." Afreen’s, elder brother who resides in UAE invested Rs 24 lakh, and many other relatives also made hefty investments in the halal ponzi scheme.

But the last time that investors got any dividends, for their investments into Heera Gold and 15 other companies that operate under Heera Gold, was in June 2018. The Enforcement Directorate pegs the scam to be worth Rs 3,000 crore, and the number of Heera Gold victims to be around 1.72 lakh. The Hyderabad Central Crime Station (CCS) pegs the scam to be over Rs 5,460 crore and called the 15 companies floated by the Heera Gold as shell companies. However, those who are fighting the group in court and are offering legal support to the victims say the scam is worth much more, and that the number of victims could be well over a couple of lakhs in India alone. 

Karnataka Govt Orders CBI Probe into Multi-crore IMA Ponzi Scheme The CBI has also been asked to 'identify and investigate persons involved in the illegal activities in connection with affairs of IMA, Bengaluru and its group entities.'

The Karnataka government on Tuesday entrusted the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate the multi-crore ponzi scheme of I Monetory Advisory (IMA) and its group entities which allegedly duped over a lakh of people.

According sanction to the CBI, the government in its order said it would investigate all the FIRs registered against IMA and its group entities. The premier probe agency will also enquire and investigate into all types of illegal activities of IMA.


The CBI has also been asked to "identify and investigate persons involved in the illegal activities in connection with affairs of IMA, Bengaluru and its group entities."

The government directed officials of all the departments concerned to hand over data, information and records as and when required by the CBI and cooperate in the investigation.

Promising high returns, IMA operator Mohammed Mansoor Khan had allegedly duped over a lakh investors, mostly Muslims.

Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019,

Parliament passes bill to curb ponzi schemes, protect poor investors

Parliament on Monday unanimously passed the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019, which seeks to put in place a mechanism by which poor depositors will get back their hard-earned money.

The Rajya passed with voice vote the bill which would save gullible investors from ponzi schemes
Parliament on Monday unanimously passed the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019, which seeks to put in place a mechanism by which poor depositors will get back their hard-earned money.

The Rajya passed with voice vote the bill which would save gullible investors from ponzi schemes.

The Lok Sabha had passed the bill on July 24, 2019. The Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019 replaced the Ordinance on the same.

Replying to a debate on the Bill, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur said the Bill would protect the hard earned money of the poor people.

He said, "I urge all members to pass the bill."

The minister said the government had constituted an inter-ministerial group to address gaps in existing legislation. The recommendations include a new central law to tackle unregulated deposit schemes.

The Bill is part of the government's effort to bring back money looted by some high and mighty people, he said during a debate on the maiden Bill piloted by him.

The Bill states that the first claim on the recovered money will be of depositors and the proposed legislation also has some exclusion including money collected by real estate firms and from friends and relatives.

The bill will give power to both central and state governments to frame rules, he said, adding 978 cases have been identified so far and of this 326 are in West Bengal.

The bill seeks to help tackle the menace of illicit deposit taking activities in the country, which at present are exploiting regulatory gaps and lack of strict administrative measures to dupe poor and gullible people of their hard earned
money, according to the government.

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The banning of Unregulated Deposit Scheme Bill, 2018 was considered by the Lok Sabha in February and after discussion, the same was passed.

However, before the same could be considered and passed in the Rajya Sabha, the House was adjourned sine die on the same day.

The bill seeks to provide a comprehensive mechanism to ban the unregulated deposit schemes, other than deposits taken in the ordinary course of business, and to protect the interest of depositors.

The legislation has adequate provisions for punishment and disgorgement or repayment of deposits in cases where such schemes nonetheless manage to raise deposits illegally.

The statement of Objects and Reasons of the bill seeks to put in place a mechanism by which depositors can be repaid without delay by attaching assets of the defaulting establishments.

It also provides that its provisions will not apply to deposits taken in the ordinary course of business in order to ensure that various entities are able to take deposits in their ordinary course of business without any difficulty.

The bill seeks to ensure that no hardship is caused to genuine businesses, or to individuals borrowing money from their relatives or friends for personal reasons or to tide over a crisis.

The legislation contains a substantive banning clause which bans deposit takers from promoting, operating, issuing advertisements or accepting deposits in any unregulated deposit scheme.

No deposit taker shall directly or indirectly promote, operate issue any advertisement soliciting participation or enrolment in or accept deposits in pursuance of an unregulated deposit scheme, it said.

The law also proposes to create three different types of offences running of unregulated deposit schemes, fraudulent default in regulated deposit schemes, and wrongful inducement in relation to unregulated deposit schemes.

It also provides for severe punishment ranging from 1 year to 10 years and pecuniary fines ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 50 crore to act as deterrent. The bill has also proposed adequate provisions for disgorgement or repayment of deposits in cases where such schemes nonetheless manage to raise deposits illegally.

The proposed law also provides for attachment of properties or assets and subsequent realisation of assets for repayment to depositors. Clear-cut timelines have been provided for attachment of property and restitution to depositors.

Participating in the debate on the bill, P Wilson (DMK), Narendra Jadav (nominated), V Vijay Reddy (YSRCP), Ramkumar Verma (BJP), K C Ramamurthy (INC), Ahmed Hassan (TMC), A Navaneethkrishnan (AIADMK), Narian Das Gupta (AAP), Ajay Pratap Singh (BJP) and KVP Ramachandra (INC) supported the bill.

Loan fraudster cheats bank, finance company of Rs 5 crore using same property documents, held

A conman who allegedly submitted property documents of an Andheri Lokhandwala resident to procure mortgage loans from Dena Bank as well as a finance company and siphoned off Rs 5 crore has been arrested.


Oshiwara police on Monday arrested Rajesh Dhanukar (45) under IPC sections for cheating, forgery, breach of trust and criminal conspiracy. He was produced before the Andheri metropolitan magistrate which has remanded him to police custody till July 28. Police have launched a search for his aides.

On July 12, police arrested his aide Ravindra Gambir, who spilled the beans on his whereabouts.

The complainant is Sangeeta Jhunjhunwala, a resident of Rushi Towers, Lokhandwala Complex. She had taken a loan of Rs 2.9 crore in 2016 from the Manish Nagar branch of Dena Bank by mortaging her twin flats. Dhanukar had helped her procure the loan. Police said she initially paid a few instalments. But after she started defaulting on her EMIs, she decided to sell off her flats worth Rs 6 crore. Dhanukar told her Rakesh Chakravarthy was interested in buying the properties.

Dhanukar drew up a sale deed agreement, NOC and other documents, including registration papers. Without her knowledge, Chakravarthy and Dhanukar allegedly mortgaged her twin flats to Fullerton India and took a loan of Rs 4.88 crore. “The duo, in connivance with officials of UCO Bank (Borivli branch), opened a fictitious account in the name of Sangeeta Jhunjhunwala and siphoned off the money by transferring it to 12 accounts belonging to their accomplices. The money was later transferred to the personal accounts of Dhanukar and Chakravarthy,” said an official.

The beneficiaries were Dhanukar, Chakravarthy and Gambir, said senior inspector Shailesh Pasalwar. The duo then allegedly made duplicate documents of Jhunjhunwala’s flats and handed over the papers to Dena Bank. The bank filed an application before the chief metropolitan magistrate’s court. It took possession of the flats and auctioned them. Dena Bank sold the flats to Haryana resident Sranik Jain. During probe, it transpired that the EOW, Versova police, Amboli police and Bandra police were looking for Dhanukar and his associates in similar cases.

Versova police are likely to take custody of Dhanukar in a cheating case where he, along with Hardik Gothi and his wife Nancy, allegedly conned an NRI of Rs 3 crore. The Gothis, who have been granted interim bailalleged they were duped by Dhanukar. 

In hope of role in SS Rajamouli film, lawyer lost Rs 50 lakh

A conman who posed as a producer of many Tollywood films, and claimed close contacts with prominent director such as SS Rajamouli, was arrested by Task Force sleuths on Thursday for duping a woman advocate of Rs 50 lakh by assuring her of providing a character artiste role in the upcoming movie RRR.


The police arrested three persons, which includes the prime accused, V Naresh Kumar.

Task Force sleuths said that Naresh Kumar alias Aditya, through an online directory, randomly selected an advocate’s number and telephoned to seek her legal advice. The accused, by introducing himself as film producer and after speaking to her on few occasions, asked her whether she is interested to work in films. On one occasion, claiming that he is making her speak to Rajamouli over phone, he conned her by imitating the director’s voice. After gaining her confidence, he assured to provide her a character role in the upcoming movie.

On the pretext of taking membership for her in Film Chamber, Movie Artiste Association (MAA) and other organisations, the accused made the victim transfer Rs 50 lakh between January and June of this year.

“Claiming that his car is under repair, Aditya asked the victim to give her Maruti Dzire car, and she obliged. But the accused did not return the car. Later, Naresh’s friends also started asking the victim to give them money. When she claimed that she is left with no money, they started to use filthy language against her,” police said in a press note.

According to police, Naresh in the past was booked by Guntur police in a cheating case. Police also arrested Rama Krishna and Somanna. 

Shreyas Talpade warns a digital platform as a conman or a woman impersonates his wife Deepti

Shreyas Talpade, who received appreciation for his negative avatar in his last outing 'Setters' is facing a trouble from a digital platform.
Today, he took to his twitter handle and revealed that his wife Deepti Talpade is facing an online fraud and that some conman or a woman is impersonating as his wife. The con is also claiming to be a the leading digital plaltforms' casting head. Shreyas after noticing the fraud has now warned the digital platform to look into the matter and investigate accordingly.

Conman on Facebook cheats Hunsur woman of Rs 5.3L

A woman in Hunsur town was cheated of Rs 5.3 lakh by a conman, possibly a foreigner, who contacted her through Facebook. The accused, who identified himself as Nueman, offered to send her gifts from foreign countries after becoming a ‘friend’ on Facebook.
He forced her to deposit money in his account in a bank branch in New Delhi, claiming that the gifts he had sent had been seized by customs and if she did not pay to get it delivered, she could be arrested. Fearing arrest, she sent the money.

According to the district police’s Cybercrime, Economic offenses, and Narcotics (CEN) wing, they have registered an FIR against the accused
Nueman used to chat with the woman on WhatsApp and Facebook. Recently, he informed her that he would be sending her free gold and silver gifts as a mark of their friendship.

Last week, she got a call from Nueman saying the gifts he sent had been seized by the customs officials at the airport and she had to pay Rs 5.3 lakh to get them released. He warned that if she did not pay the money, the customs may arrest her. Fearing the arrest, she transferred the money to the bank account of the accused.
“We have launched an investigation. The account of the accused is in New Delhi. People must be careful while transferring money or becoming friends on social media,” said an offiicial of CEN.
“Jobs frauds, OTP-based cheating etc are on the rise. Awareness is key in this regard,” said the officer.

Woman loses Rs 2.8 lakh to conman

A woman fell into the trap of an unidentified conman and lost Rs2.80 lakh on the pretext of claiming the lottery prize won by her.
After realizing that she had been cheated, the victim lodged a complaint with cybercrime police station.

“The complainant got a call from an unidentified number on July 7 and she was informed that she has woman a bumper lottery. She was told that for claiming the prize she would have to deposit a fee,” a cybercrime police official said.
“The unidentified caller called the complainant from another number and sent her bank account details through WhatsApp, asking her to deposit Rs2.8 lakh. Subsequently, the woman deposited the money and waited for further details,” he added.

However, the woman did not get any call or message from the suspect. The complainant also tried to contact the suspect on both the numbers but was unable to get through. After waiting for few more days, the woman decided to lodge acomplaint with police.
“It is a common modus operandi used by criminals to cheat people. We are regularly organizing awareness programmes about cyber security in schools and colleges. Thousands of students have been informed about the importance of cyber security and how to deal with issues like phishing and cheating,” the official said.

Woman loses jewellery worth Rs 90,000 to conman in Mysuru

MYSURU: A woman lost her gold ornaments worth Rs 90,000 to a conman who pretended to be a cop.

In her complaint to the KR Nagar police, R B Gowramma, 50, a resident of Mirle village under KR town police, said the incident occurred near KR Nagar government hospital on Wednesday.

Gowramma said when she was walking near the hospital after getting down from the bus, a person, posing as a policeman, stopped her and asked her to keep her valuables safe as thieves were roaming in the area. He offered help in removing and wrapping up the jewellery.

Gowramma believed him and handed over her jewellery to wrap it up in a paper packet after which the man left the spot on a bike with another person.

When Gowramma uncovered the packet, she found a lime stone instead of her ornaments.

KR Nagar police launched an investigation. Gowramma said the conmen travelled towards Hassan.

A few months ago, such incidents were reported in Mysuru city. Conmen were targeting the elderly.

Cupid or conman? Decoding the online dating scam

Last week, 52-year-old Meenu Jain was robbed and murdered in her Delhi home. The suspect was someone she had met on desi dating app QuackQuack. Dinesh Dixit, a debt-ridden realtor, posed as a high-flying businessman to strike a friendship which gradually turned to ‘romance’. A police probe has revealed that Dixit’s modus operandi was preying on married women. As more people go online looking for sex, love and friendship, dating apps and social networking sites have become hunting grounds for conmen. Here are five kinds of dating scams to watch out for…
1 | Russian Biwi Con

The Russian Wives scam is a classic. A pretty young thing befriends an older man online. After chatting over a period of time, the “woman” shows an interest in coming to India to know more about Bollywood or Indian history, but says she can’t because of lack of funds. Altaf Halde, global business head of cyber security firm Network Intelligence, says that by this time, the man starts feeling sorry for her. “Then in a fit of generosity, he transfers a sum of money for the travel.” The transfers are requested through a service like Western Union rather than a bank account so that tracking the recipient becomes difficult. The next day, the man will get an image in his mailbox, showing the woman connecting with the man’s wife on a social media app, and a blackmail note threatening to tell all if the man doesn’t part with more money. Most people who are duped don’t even go to the police. Senior inspector of Pune’s cybercrime cell Radhika Phadke says that every week, they get at least one application from someone who has fallen victim to an online dating fraud. “But very few come forward to lodge an FIR.”

2 | Proposal turns extortion

This one targets widowed or single people looking for a second chance at companionship. Scammers usually pose as doctors or military personnel as that inspires trust, sometimes even introducing other “family members” to give their story credibility. As in the case of 44-year-old Hyderabad-based divorcee Haritha (name changed), who joined a matrimonial portal and met a ‘’doctor’’ online. They exchanged numbers. Before long, the chats became longer and more frequent. The doctor claimed to be living with his daughter in the UK and told Haritha that he’d lost his wife in a car crash. One day, he told her that he had booked tickets for India to meet her. “He told her that he wanted to meet her and her family to officially propose marriage,” says S Harinath, ACP cybercrime Rachakonda. Haritha later got a call from a woman from the customs department saying he was carrying a lot of cash and gifts with him, and had been taken into custody for money laundering. “The customs officer asked her to send money in phases to various account, to secure his release. She sent over Rs 5 lakh, but later realised she had been cheated when there was no call from the customs officers and the doctor she had been talking to for weeks,” says the ACP. The case was finally cracked when the man was arrested from Noida. Hyderabad alone reported 11 such cases of fraud in four months.


3 | Pretty woman is a man

This one involves a sex change or, at least, a virtual one. Last year, 29-year-old Bengaluru-based engineer Suman Reddy posed as a woman on a classifieds app called Locanto which is often used to pick up female escorts. By the time the Guntur police arrested him, Reddy had cheated over 500 people, making off with several lakhs. The excuses for asking for money ranged from medical emergencies and sudden travel plans to a credit card getting lost or stolen. He would always insist on a digital payment. Last June, a software engineer in Bengaluru was duped of Rs 60 lakh by a “woman” who struck a rapport and then asked for Rs 30,000 for her father’s treatment at a Kolkata hospital. The requests kept coming.

4 | I-have-your-sex-tape-scam

Cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab says a common scam involves conmen who claim to be living abroad in Eastern Europe or Southeast Asia. After a courtship period, the scammer asks the victim to connect via webcam and “chat”. The fraudster’s webcam is mysteriously broken, but with a combination of flattery and persistence, he convinces his “partner” to partially disrobe or perform other intimate acts. The scammer then claims to have made a video recording and threatens to post it unless the victim sends money.

5 | Making Gay men pay

Besides lonely middle-aged men, widows and divorcees, romance scammers often target the queer community as they are more reluctant to go to the police. They are often lured on dates, drugged with a spiked drink and robbed of cash and jewellery. But sometimes, it’s worse. As in the case of Mumbai-based Ashish, who was on a work trip to Delhi last July when he met a match on a dating app. He decided to meet with his date in the middle of the afternoon near Connaught Place only to find another guy turn up. “The man said he was part of an escort service and demanded Rs 20,000. When I refused, he started abusing me,” Ashish says. The man was joined by two others who physically assaulted him and tried to snatch his chain and phone. Ashish kicked one of the gang members and ran for his life. A shaken Ashish told a few close friends about the incident after returning to Mumbai. “After I spoke about it, I realised that many people in the gay community had faced similar situations,” he says. Ishaan Sethi, who co-founded the Delta app to give the LGBTcommunity a safer way to date, says that though scams have reduced after the repeal of Section 377, cases of extortion and blackmail continue to exist. “Earlier people were scared of getting arrested. Now that fear is alleviated but there is still the fear of public shaming.”

How to spot the scammer

• If you are approached by someone on a social media app, experts suggest checking for poor English, like spelling and grammatical errors
• If there is a photo on the profile do a Google Reverse Image search. If it’s a scammer, you’ll probably find his or her photo in a stock image library
• Do not transfer money at any cost irrespective of the sob story
• If you’ve been chatting up a potential sweetheart for a while, and they keep putting off meeting in real life, it could be a red flag
• Don’t visit links sent to you by people you haven’t talked to for very long. Scammers try to get their target to click on links, usually leading to porn or webcam sites, and sometimes can even lead to malicious sites that download malware onto your computer
• If someone requests a webcam chat, be especially careful about your behaviour

TOP COMMENT

Please be extremely wary of those who you interact with online !Stay safe and be careful with the information you share!Sumita Kulkarni

Mistakes people make on dating sites

• One in three people are dating online
• People share information with others too easily. One in four admitted they share their full name publicly on their dating profile while one in ten have shared their home address
• One in ten have shared naked photos of themselves exposing them to risk
• Even though lying is one of the most hated aspects of online dating, 57% of online daters lie to each other, faking a range of attributes such as their names, marital status, location and appearance
• A 2017 online study by Kaspersky Lab interviewed 21,081 people aged over 16 from 32 countries

Owner Mansoor Khan arrested from Delhi airport, being questioned by ED

IMA ponzi scam: Owner Mansoor Khan arrested from Delhi airport, being questioned by ED

The SIT said that its sources in Dubai persuaded him to come back and submit himself before the law.

Mohammed Mansoor Khan, the owner of IMA jewels, has been arrested in New Delhi by the Enforcement Directorate and is being questioned by it, said a special investigation team here which is probing the alleged ponzi scam.Khan, who had fled to Dubai, flew back to India and was arrested on landing in Delhi, it said in a statement.

The SIT said that its sources in Dubai persuaded him to come back and submit himself before the law.

"Accordingly he travelled from Dubai to New Delhi (Flight AI 916) and landed at 01550 hours IST. SIT officers are in Delhi to secure and arrest the accused," it said.

 IMA ponzi scam case: IMA Founder Mansoor Khan is in Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody and is being questioned at ED office in Delhi

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A lookout circular was issued against him by both SIT and ED and he would be handed over according to the procedure, the SIT said.

Sources told PTI that he is being quizzed by ED officials in New Delhi and will later be sent to Bengaluru for a detailed probe by the SIT.

Khan will be produced in a court on Friday and will be taken to Bengaluru on transit remand.

More than one lakh people had invested in the IMA Jewels which started 17 companies. Khan invited people, mostly Muslims, to invest in five companies, said the SIT, adding that Rs 4,084 crore was invested in the company.He has to refund approximately Rs 1,400 crore to his investors, the SIT said.

Around one and half months ago, Khan had fled to Dubai leaving thousands of investors in lurch.

Khan had promised them that he would return to India and refund their money.

Based on thousands of complaints, the SIT registered a case against him and others. It has so far arrested 22 people, including Khan, 12 directors of the firm, deputy commissioner of Bengaluru urban district Vijay Shankar, assistant commissioner L C Nagaraj, a Bangalore Development Authority officer, a nominated corporator of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and a village accountant.

Before fleeing he had accused Shivajinagar Congress MLA R Roshan Baig of taking Rs 400 crore and not returning it.

Baig categorically refuted the charge, terming it false and frivolous. The MLA who had rebelled against the party was suspended for anti-party activities.

Baig then joined the bandwagon of rebel MLAs who resigned.

The SIT had served him a notice to depose before it on July 15, but he sought time till July 26. The SIT then asked him to be present before it on July 19.

The day Baig was supposed to appear before SIT, he planned to fly to Mumbai by a special chartered plane but the SIT detained him and quizzed him extensively.

IMA Ponzi scam: MLA Roshan Baig fails to turn up before SIT

The MLA wanted to appear on July 25 but the SIT directed him to depose on July 19 instead, SIT said.

Former Karnataka minister and Congress MLA R Roshan Baig Monday did not turn up before the special investigation team probing the alleged IMA Jewels Ponzi scheme saying he had some urgent work.

The MLA wanted to appear on July 25 but the SIT directed him to depose on July 19 instead, SIT said.

"Regarding the appearance of MLA Roshan Baig, before the SIT, he has consented to appear before SIT on July 25. But due to the necessity of speeding up the investigation on the part of the SIT, a second notice is served to him to appear on July 19," the SIT said in a statement.

A former minister in the previous Siddaramaiah government, Baig landed in the IMA controversy after the company owner Mohammed Mansoor Khan alleged that Baig took Rs 400 crore from him but did not return it. The MLA had refuted the charges calling them baseless and frivolous.

Baig has been sulking for quite some time and had flayed party leaders Siddaramaiah and state president Dinesh Gundu Rao for the party's poor show in the Lok Sabha election. The party later suspended him for his "anti-party" activities.

At the height of the resignation drama in Karnataka, he joined the bandwagon of 16 MLAs who tendered their resignation from the assembly, pushing the ruling coalition to the verge of collapse.

Hours after his resignation on July 9, the SIT served him a notice asked him to appear on July 11 but the MLA sought time and said he would appear on Monday but did not turn up.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Mansoor Khan in a video message on YouTube said he would return to India "within 24 hours" to refund money to the investors.

He said he wanted to come early but due to health issues, he could not. He claimed he had high diabetes and blood pressure and that there were three blockages in his heart.

"By the grace of God, I will back to India within 24 hours. I have faith in the Indian judiciary," Khan said in the video.

He added that once he landed in India, he will hand over documents and details to the police department.

"We will try to get the money back from those who extorted from me and took a bribe," he said.

The Enforcement Directorate has filed a money laundering case against the IMA group of companies and Mohammed Mansoor Khan after reports emerged that he has gone underground fearing investments worth crores of about 40,000 investors have tanked.

Before he went missing, Mansoor Khan threatened to commit suicide saying that corruption in the state government, as well as the central government, pushed him to the wall.

The SIT has arrested 21 people so far, including the deputy commissioner of Bengaluru urban district and an assistant commissioner of Bengaluru North sub-division, who allegedly took bribe from Khan for covering up the case. A Muslim cleric is also among the arrested, the SIT said.

Nigerian couple, aide cheat 57-year-old of ₹74 lakh, arrested

The city cyber police on Saturday arrested three people – a Nigerian couple and an auto rickshaw driver from Navi Mumbai – for cheating a 57-year-old Mahim resident of ₹74 lakh.

According to the complainant, the accused befriended her on social media in December 2017. The accused allegedly asked her for money under several pretexts. She transferred a total of ₹74.20 lakh till June 2018.

Investigation has revealed that the driver, Ashok Borade, 40, had allowed the couple to use his bank account, in exchange for a hefty commission. The couple has been identified as Amra Obesoque, 32 and his wife Khristabel Libeh, 30.

In December 2017, the woman received a friend request from one of the accused, claiming he was a marine engineer named Donald Tod, based in the US. Over the next few months, she transferred money to him for various reasons.

“On one such occasion, the accused told the woman that he had sent jewellery and cash to India, but it had been intercepted by custom officials. He asked her to send him money to pay the officials,” said Vishal Thakur deputy commissioner of police (cyber).

Thakur added that the accused promised to pay the woman back in double and also that he would send her £20,000 (₹18 lakh) so she could fly to America.

After the accused started avoiding her, she approached the police station on June 23, 2018.

During investigations, police found 30 bank accounts registered in the names of individuals based in Mizoram, Delhi and Hyderabad. Police learnt that these accounts had been created by forging documents.

The police also learnt that there was a group of auto rickshaw and taxi drivers in Navi Mumbai, who volunteered to let the accused use their bank accounts for the fraudulent transactions.

After tracking down Borade, the police raided the couple’s residence in Ulve, Navi Mumbai, and recovered 13 mobile phones, a modem, a router and a laptop. They are now trying to trace the other accused.

Gang dupes many with job offers in auto major

A gang that used to impersonate as representatives of a leading corporate and dupe youths by offering them jobs has been busted. The Mumbai’s police’s cyber unit, along with officials of Rajouri police station in New Delhi, raided a call centre in the national capital recently and arrested Vipin Rajpalsingh Yadav and Mohit Rakumar Yadav. The police said that hunt is on for other members of the gang. They seized 22 mobile phones, SIM cards, bank passbooks, two computers, routers, printers and digital notebooks containing list of victims from the accused’s Rajouri Garden call centre.


An official said that the gang would email youngsters seeking jobs on social media and lure them with supervisors’ posts in the auto major. “The accused had created an email address similar to that of corporate and used it to communicate with the victims. They would email appointment letters and seek a security deposit of Rs 25,000,” he said.

Recently, one Payal Gupta asked a victim to deposit Rs 3,400 in a bank account. “Later, the victim got a selection letter with the company logo stating that she has been appointed supervisor in the company’s Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh) unit with a monthly salary of Rs 25,500. The letter stated that the victim should contact HR manager Aditi Lochab. But when the victim called up Lochab, another Rs 17,000 was demanded. The victim was told the money will be reimbursed in the first salary. But when, after a month, no appointment letter arrived, the victim contacted the corporate’s head office in Mumbai, only to realise it was a con.” A senior executive of the company then lodged a complaint with the cyber police and the IP address for the computer used to send emails was traced to Delhi.

Eleven staffers found working at the call centre said they were unaware about their work being illegal, said the police. Their statements were recorded and they were allowed to go.

Arjun Sawant, proprietor of Arrows Dynamic Enterprise, Man in ₹3cr Ponzi case lands in city cops’ net

Mumbai:

The city police arrested Arjun Sawant, proprietor of Arrows Dynamic Enterprise, in a Rs 20 crore cheating case where he along with his wife, Vaidehi, promised gullible investors 48% annual returns on investments. Sawant’s wife is also an accused in this case and yet to be arrested. The cheating amount is over Rs 3.2 crore. However, the police feel it could go up to Rs 20 crore when more investors come forward.


The accused husband andwife duo were booked by the police for luring investors to invest in fixed deposits in their real estate firm. Sawant was first arrested by the Sindhudurg economic offences wing (EOW) for a similar offence registered against him there. The EOW took his custody on Tuesday in its case. He was brought from a Sindhudurg jail to Mumbai where the court remanded him in police custody till March 13.

Sawant had his office in Bhandup from where he ran the scheme. Rajendra Deshmukh, a Chunabhatti resident, lodged the complaint with the Kanjur Marg police and the case was transferred to the EOW. “The accused couple collected money under the garb of FDs and promsied 4% monthly returns on the FDs. They did not advertise their schemes in newspapers but preferred word-ofmouth publicity. The firm is neither a limited company nor registered under the Companies Act. They had collected the deposits illegally,” said an officer. The depositors include mostly the working class people from suburban Mumbai.

Information on the internet about Arrows Dynamic Enterprise says it was established in 2009 and is in the list of top service providers of conveyor and industrial belts.

Agent in ₹135 crore land sale con held

Mumbai:

A real estate agent, Mohammed Aslam Karim


(45), was arrested at the city airport for allegedly duping a Bengaluru-based company by of Rs 135 crore by trying to sell a plot of land in Bengaluru by handing over forged documents. It turns out that the land on offer belongs to the government. Karim was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police while he was about to fly to Dubai. A lookout notice had been issued against him by the Mumbai police, said sources.

the dealing took place in Mumbai. The company, Greenfield, had lodged a complaint alleging that in 2009 Karim and two others—A N Srinivas swamy and K Munniraj Kempanna—had approached Hardeep Sahani of Greenfield to sell the plot. The company had given a power of attorney to its official VenkateshRao Mutta, said officials from EOW’shousing unit.

“It is alleged that the accused sold the land for Rs 135 crore, but did not register it. It later emerged that the plot belongs to the government and was classified as a ‘green zone’.” said an officer.

The company wanted to develop the plot into a township and even got into a development agreement with ‘Employees’ Welfare Fund, Hindustan Aeronautics Bangalore’. However, when its officials later learnt that the property was a ‘reserved’ plot. The company officials then lodged a private complaint at the Andheri metropolitan magistrate’s court. A police probe revealed Mutta’s involvement and he was arrested in 2013.

VVIP chopper scam: Delhi court reserves Gautam Khaitan bail order

Gautam Khaitan's bail order will be pronounced on February 19 after arguements on the bail were heard in a Delhi court on Friday.

Khargumentsaccused in the Agusta Westland VVIP chopper scam is also an accused in a fresh Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, a case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

After hearing the arguments from the prosecution and the defence, the court reserved the order for February 19. During the hearing, Khaitan's lawyer Siddhartha Luthra said the account numbers which the ED have mentioned in the reply opposing the bail are accounts which have already been closed earlier.


"How can he be prosecuted when the accounts listed by the probing agency were closed by the Income Tax Department earlier. The details of the searches conducted have not been clearly given. The Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) has been denied to me as well. The ED had all the relevant documents and the details and yet have not found anything substantial," said Luthra.

He further added that this is a case of malicious and unjustified arrest. The ED informed the court that three more accounts have surfaced during the investigation. The investigating agency claimed that Khaitan's income tax accounts and bank details are in variance.

Bikaner land case: ED attaches assets worth Rs 4.62 crore of Robert Vadra's company

Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth Rs 4.62 crore of Robert Vadra's company


The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has attached assets worth Rs 4.62 crore of a firm linked to Robert Vadra, Congress president Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law, in connection with the Bikaner land scam money laundering case.

"The attached assets include movable assets amounting to Rs 18,59,500 pertaining to four individuals and one immovable property situated at 268, Sukhdev Vihar in New Delhi to the extent of Rs 4,43,36,550 owned by Robert Vadra's company Ms Sky Light Hospitality (P) Ltd (now LLP)," the agency said.

The ED issued a provisional order for attachment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). It had grilled Vadra in this case in Jaipur twice last week. His mother Maureen was also asked to depose but was allowed to go after completion of brief legal procedures.


The ED had registered a criminal case in connection with the deal in 2015, taking cognisance of a clutch of FIRs and charge sheets filed by Rajasthan Police after the tehsildar of Bikaner complained about alleged forgery in the allotment of land in the area, considered sensitive due to its proximity to the Indo-Pak border.

Probe revealed, the ED said, that the central government had acquired land of as many as 34 villages in Bikaner district for the purpose of establishment of Mahajan Field Firing Range (MFFR) and the state government proposed for rehabilitation of the displaced people by providing land equivalent to their acquired land.

"Fraudster Jai Prakash Bagrwa and others in collusion with state government officials got 1,422 bigha government land illegally allotted to fictitious persons in guise of a government scheme for people displaced due to establishment of MFFR and illegally sold 1,372 bigha out of this land to various persons and companies," it said. On detection of fraud, impugned land was recorded back as government land in revenue records by Rajasthan great, the ED said.

Subsequently, it said, these impugned fraudulent lands were further sold by subsequent purchasers to individuals and companies and all these subsequent sellers of the impugned land generated a considerable amount of profit.

"These fraudulently generated profit by these entities is nothing but proceeds of crime as defined under the PMLA and Vadra's company Sky Light Hospitality (P) Ltd had purchased 275 Bigha (69.55 hectare) fraudulent land for Rs 72 lakh and sold the same for Rs 5.15 crore to Allegeny Finlease (P) Ltd and illegally generated profit of Rs 4.43 crore," he said.


Four other individuals had also generated profit of Rs 18.59 lakh in sale of impugned fraudulent land, it said. The ED has filed charge sheet in this case against 9 accused and the total attachment in this case stands at Rs 6.44 crore now.

CBI team attacked by a family of accused in YEIDA land scam

A five-member team of CBI officials, including a woman constable, was attacked allegedly by relatives of an accused, also a CBI official, in a 2014-land fraud case from his village in Greater Noida on Saturday. Police have arrested a man in connection with the case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing a 2014 case of alleged land fraud, amounting to Rs 126 crore, linked to the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA).

According to the police, the incident occurred on Saturday morning when the sleuths reached Sonpura village to look for the accused when his relatives attacked them.


"We were informed about the family and relatives of the accused misbehaving with CBI officials. The police reached the spot and detained some persons from the spot. A case has been registered and legal proceedings are underway," said Vaibhav Krishna, SSP Gautam Budh Nagar.

Police said the relatives have been charged with holding government officials hostage, assaulting them and obstructing government officials' work.

" A couple of CBI officials were injured during the scuffle with the relatives, who forced the sleuths inside a private property in Sonpura village and beat them up with sticks and bare hands to help the accused escape, the agency said in a statement issued in Delhi," said Krishna.

The CBI officials alleged that mobile phones, ID cards of some members were burnt by the attacker on February 3, the agency booked two of its officials posted in Ghaziabad, both of who were probing the case, on charges of criminal conspiracy and under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The accused CBI Inspector VS Rathore was arrested while ASI Sunil Dutt has been absconding. However, Dutt's brother Yudhveer Singh has been arrested, police said. According to police, some YEIDA officials, including its former CEO PC Gupta, in association with private firms, had purchased around 57 hectares "useless" land in 2014 in seven villages of Mathura in lieu of compensation to their owners by the Authority.

At least six people have been arrested in the five-year-old case in which 21 people have been named as accused, police said.


Crime Sheet
At least six people have been arrested in the five-year-old case in which 21 people have been named as accused. The accused CBI Inspector VS Rathore was arrested while ASI Sunil Dutt has been absconding.

QNet scam: Shah Rukh Khan, Jackie Shroff, Boman Irani and 500 others issued notices by Police

Notices have been issued to about 500 people, including top film actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Boman Irani and Jackie Shroff, to provide details on payments they allegedly received from QNet and Vihaan Direct Selling Private Limited, a senior police official said on Wednesday. The case pertains to alleged "cheating" by the Vihaan Direct Selling Private Limited Company, a sub-franchise of QI Group in India, marketing under the brand name of Qnet.

Police recently said several people were arrested for alleged involvement in the 'QNet scam' in which lakhs of people across the country were "cheated" of crores of rupees. However, Qnet has refuted the allegation and said their business was legitimate.

Notices will be issued to actors Anil Kapoor, Allu Sirish and cricketer Yuvraj Singh also, the official added. "During our investigation in the Qnet case, we have found that some celebrities participated in a few promotional activities by the company. We asked them to explain us before March 4 on the remuneration and perks they received for their participation," the official said.


Notices have been served through their WhatsApp numbers under Section 91 of the CrPC (production of any document or another thing necessary or desirable for the purposes of any investigation), according to the official. Those who received notices can submit their details through their representatives and need not to appear personally before the police, the official clarified.

Police had earlier said a nationwide probe has been launched to nab the main perpetrators behind the multi-crore rupee fraud, allegedly committed by marketing firm QNet.

Shah Rukh Khan and Anil Kapoor served notice for their alleged involvement in Qnet scam

Cyberabad Police has served notices to prominent Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Boman Irani and others for their alleged involvement in the multicrore Qnet scam, according to sources. A notice was also served to cricketer Yuvraj Singh and Tollywood actors Allu Sirish and Pooja Hegde in connection with the case, the source added.

According to sources, since last two days, Cyberabad Police has served notices to around 500 members in the Qnet scam registered in Cyberabad earlier. Till now, the police also arrested nearly 60 accused persons who are involved in the case. It has been alleged that these actors have promoted the company by taking remuneration.

As per sources, Cyberabad Police have given a week's time to the alleged accused and asked them to appear before the police by March 4. The police have also mentioned in the notices that if they failed to appear, legal action will be initiated against them. 


According to reports, QNet was accused of running one of the biggest Ponzi scams in India, cheating at least three lakh people. The racket was busted by the sleuths of Cyberabad in various parts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bengaluru and Delhi in which 57 persons were arrested in 14 cases registered against QNet.

"There are a total of 30 cases registered on QNet in Cyberabad. There are eight cases which are under investigation with CID," VC Sajjanar, Commissioner of Police, Cyberabad told reporters on January 8, 2019.

"QNet is a Hong Kong-based multi-level marketing company owned by the QI group. The company invoked many Ponzi schemes and binary schemes, vacation packages and business tactics which were illegal," he further said.

QNet is the main subsidiary of the QI group of companies founded by Vijay Eshwaran and Joseph Bismark in Hong Kong in 1998. The company's CEO Micheal Ferreira and Malcolm Desai are the shareholders of Vihaan Direct Selling Pvt Ltd. Now, the company has opened its branches all across the world.

Not just PNB, Mehul Choksi conned Wells Fargo, Gordon Brothers, too

It is not just Punjab National Bank (PNB) that was a victim of fraud. Fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi and an international web of co-conspirators used his US company Samuels Jewelers and a series of puppet vendors, including a psychologist, to fraudulently induce Samuels's primary lenders. As a result, America's Wells Fargo and Gordon Brothers were manipulated so as to unknowingly authorise tens of millions of dollars of credit line advances which were ultimately funnelled outside the US to Choksi-controlled entities in India, Dubai and Hong Kong, a bankruptcy court-appointed examiner's phase 1 report has revealed.

These findings paint a clear picture of the US-based bank fraud by Choksi and his henchmen who are already connected to the largest bank fraud in Indian history masterminded by Choksi's nephew Nirav Modi.

Texas-based Samuels Jewelers, which filed for bankruptcy proceedings in August last year, is already linked to the multi-billion dollar scam that involved fraudulently borrowing from Indian banks over a period of years using Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Foreign Letters of Credit (FLCs). A 30% owner and former chairman of Samuels and the parent Gitanjali group of companies, Choksi, now on the run, has been charged by Indian authorities for his role in the alleged multi-billion-dollar fraud on PNB.


In the case of Samuels and American lenders, Choksi and an international web of co-conspirators created the false appearance that Samuels was purchasing and/or selling jewellery to and from unrelated third-parties. In fact, Samuels and related entities were secretly selling inventory and laundering money among themselves at the direction of Choksi and individuals under his control, the examiner's report concluded.

"These disguised transactions accounted for approximately $121 million worth of reported purchases and sales. At least one primary goal of the deception was an apparent scheme to fraudulently induce Samuels's primary lenders, Wells Fargo and Gordon Brothers, to authorise tens of millions of dollars of credit line advances which were ultimately funneled outside the US to Choksi-controlled entities in India, Dubai and Hong Kong," examiner John J. Carney's report says.

Among the puppet vendors employed by Choksi was Exclusive Design Direct Inc (EDD) reflected in Samuels's records as one of its largest independent inventory suppliers. "...in reality (it was) a one-person front company run out of a psychologist's office in Sterling Heights, Michigan. No inventory was shipped from this vendor and Choksi and his co-conspirators issued tens of millions of dollars in invoices on EDD's behalf and caused tens of millions of dollars to be transferred from Samuels's bank accounts to EDD. The psychologist, who controlled the EDD bank account, was promised a 1% fee for laundering the money. Nearly 100% of these laundered funds have been traced back to Choksi controlled entities," the report said.

Many Choksi entities were Hong Kong companies established by Choksi to appear as if they were unaffiliated third parties, but were staffed by Gitanjali employees and run out of the offices of a Gitanjali affiliate.

During his investigation, the examiner also found that Samuels Jewelers purportedly independent jewellery grading laboratory was, in fact, an entity secretly controlled by Choksi. Disguised through a British Virgin Islands entity, Choksi owned 99.99% of Independent Gemological Laboratories, the diamond grading company that Samuels advertised to its customers as providing them with “independent” verification of merchandise's quality and value.

Investigating the truth of allegations of bank fraud in India was beyond the scope of the examiner's charge, the report said. Nonetheless, the investigation has revealed credible evidence consistent both with the occurrence of the fraud alleged and with the Samuels Jewelers' involvement and assistance with this fraud. The examiner was able to trace millions of dollars procured from the US lenders that Samuels transferred via puppet vendors to Choksi controlled entities and ultimately to repayment of FLCs in India.

Additionally, evidence gathered in the investigation by the US examiner confirms that Choksi and entities and individuals under his control influenced Samuels Jewelers prior to the Chapter 11 proceeding.

THE MODUS OPERANDI
Choksi and an international web of co-conspirators created the false appearance that Samuels was purchasing and/or selling jewellery to and from unrelated third-parties 
In fact, Samuels and related entities were secretly selling inventory and laundering money among themselves at the direction of Choksi and individuals under his control 
Choksi owned 99.99% of Independent Gemological Laboratories, a diamond grading company that Samuels advertised provided “independent” verification of merchandise’s quality
$121 mn – worth of disguised purchase and sales transactions

30% – stake owned by Mehul Choksi in Samuels Jewelers


Rs 13,580 cr – size of the PNB scam perpetrated by Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi 

Cash prize for winning World Cup 2019 lottery or competition? ICC warns against scam

Cash prize for winning World Cup 2019 lottery or competition? ICC warns against scam

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has warned cricket fans against scams claiming to be associated with the World Cup 2019.

DNA Web Team Feb 28, 2019, 03:49 PM IST
If you have got any mail or message saying you have won a won a cash prize via a lottery or competition related to ICC World Cup 2019, it is most likely to be a scam.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has warned cricket fans against scams claiming to be associated with the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019, starting May 30 in England.

ICC said that previous major sporting events have also been targeted in this way. Illegal scammers contact people, usually through email, claiming that they have won a cash prize via a lottery or competition, requiring the person to share a range of personal information, including their name, age, bank account and passport details. The victim is often asked to pay a fee to obtain the prize money.

1. What did ICC say

ICC stressed there is no such competition, lottery or promotion associated with it or the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019. Any approach via email in the UK should be reported to Action Fraud while outside of the UK should be reported to ICC Enquiry.

2. What should you do after getting such email

What should you do after getting such email
According to ICC, you should never respond to any such communication. If you haven’t entered a lottery then you can’t have won it. Never, ever disclose your bank details or pay fees in advance.

ICC also said online resources are available to give advice if you have received a similar correspondence or have responded to a potential scam. If you are unsure whether you have been a victim of fraud, you can find more information on the correct action and how to protect yourself online on Action Fraud or by contacting your local authorities.

3. How to identify a scam

How to identify a scam
Official lottery operators don't ask for fees to collect winnings. Any request for fee payment is a good indication that someone is trying to defraud you.

If an email address has been provided to respond to, be very suspicious of addresses such as @hotmail.com or @yahoo.com or numbers beginning with 07 because these are free to get hold of.

Genuine lotteries thrive on publicity. If they ask you to keep your win a secret, it’s likely to be a fraud.

Many fraudulent lotteries have bad spelling and grammar – see this as a warning that fraudsters are at work.

4. About ICC World Cup 2019

The ICC World Cup 2019 tournament will run from 30 May to 14 July. The semifinals will be played at Old Trafford in Manchester and Edgbaston in Birmingham on 9 and 11 July respectively, while Lord’s will host the final on 14 July. The 10 teams in the tournament will play against each other in a single-league format, with the top four sides after 45 matches to qualify for the two semi-finals.

Promised ₹18k to make bored women happy, man loses ₹1.3L

Mumbai:

A 32-year-old man recently fell prey to a honeytrap as well as his greed and ended up losing Rs 1.3 lakh in 24 hours before approaching the police.


Ravikumar Gupta (name changed), the technician with a diamond polishing unit in Sakinaka, got a call on January 31 from a woman claiming to be from a “friendship club”. She told Gupta that they were looking for men who could entertain rich, bored housewives and earn Rs 18,000 per appointment.

Gupta fell for it hook, line and sinker, and kept making payments. The police managed to freeze the account where he transferred funds, including part of a loan taken to buy property. In a brazen retort, when the cops spoke to the fraudsters, they said they would refund Gupta’s money once the account is de-freeze.

Gupta convinced himself an additional income from woman clients will help pay the Rs 15,400 EMI against the Rs 5.6 lakh loan. “I was told that the club will arrange the meetings (with women clients) and I can earn a regular income,” Gupta told TOI. The police acted immediately after a written complaint from Gupta on February 1, but the FIR was registered on Monday.

After convincing Gupta, the caller asked him to pay Rs 2,000 as registration fee. “The woman asked me to attend a meeting and sought another Rs 10,000 as meeting fee. Once these payments were made, she sent four photos of women and asked me to choose. She said I would get a call from the one I chose, but the meeting could not be in any place and asked me to book a hotel for which the client would compensate. So I deposited Rs 32,000 on her instruction. Later, the tele-caller said if I deposited Rs 36,000, the hotel room would be booked for the entire month and I will receive a gold card and cash reward points,” Gupta said.

On February 1, the tele-caller again got in touch with Gupta and said he had to undergo a health check-up and the report had to be shown to the client before the appointment could take place. He was asked to deposit another Rs 46,000 and “told that a man will visit his address and conduct the check-up. He realised he had been duped when no one came till 5pm”, said the police.

A case under IPC sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 34 (common intention) have been filed and the Sakinaka Cyber Cell is looking into the case, said DCP (zone X), Navinchandra Reddy.