City Limouzine Investment finance fraud

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.

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।

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.