Two days after a mob attacked an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team which was on way to Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shahjahan Sheikh’s residence in North 24 Parganas’ Sandeshkhali, a TMC leader was shot dead on Sunday.

Satyen Chowdhury, Chowdhury, TMC’s general secretary for Murshidabad district, was gunned down by unidentified assailants in Baharampur.

Chowdhury was rushed to a hospital but declared dead on arrival.

According to officials and eyewitnesses, a group of individuals arrived on bikes and opened fire on Chowdhury from close range.

Police have launched an investigation into the murder, the motive of which is yet to be ascertained

Chowdhury was once close to Murshidabad’s heavyweight Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, but later joining ruling TMC.

The trio, whose identity hasn’t been revealed, has been taken into custody under provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), PTI reported citing sources.

The central agency had arrested four persons — mobile company Lava International’s MD Hari Om Rai, Chinese national Guangwen alias Andrew Kuang, chartered accountants Nitin Garg and Lava statutory auditor Rajan Malik – in October under PMLA.

Earlier this month, ED filed a chargesheet against the quartet and named the Chinese smartphone maker as prime accused before a special PMLA court in Delhi.

ED has claimed that Vivo had siphoned off $13 billion by hiding profits for several months, and also said that many people affiliated with Vivo concealed their employment while seeking visas for India.

During court proceedings, ED said some employees of Vivo breached rules by visiting the “sensitive” Jammu & Kashmir region.

The Delhi CM, who has been asked to appear before the central agency on January 3, skipped the previous two summons.

The AAP supremo avoided the November 2 summons saying he had governance-related work in Delhi ahead of Diwali and was also scheduled to campaign for the party in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. On December 21, Kejriwal snubbed ED again as he left to attend vipassana meditation programme.

“The timing of your summons leaves much to be desired and strengthens my belief that the summons being sent to me are not based upon any objective or rational yardstick but for extraneous considerations at the behest of political rivals who wish to silence the voice of Opposition to the ruling dispensation at the Centre to create sensational news in the final few months leading up to the Parliamentary elections in early to mid-2024,” Kejriwal wrote to ED recently.

“On the eve of my departure for Vipassana meditation course which has been widely published and largely circulated all over the media in the country as well as officially announced, to my utter dismay and concern, I have received the subject summons,” Kejriwal added.

He pointed out that he is a law-abiding, conscientious and an ordinary citizen of the country who has nothing to hide.

Will Kejriwal respond to ED’s calling this time? Or will he risk a possible direct arrest?

We’ll have to wait for a few days to get an answer.

ED has claimed that shell companies were used to remit Rs 1 lakh crore outside India between 2014 and 2021, Hindustan Times reported quoting people familiar with the development.

The chargesheet, filed before a special court in Delhi, has named several individuals including founder and MD of Lava International Hari Om Rai, who is accused of assisting Vivo; Guangwen Kyang alias Andrew Kuang, a Chinese national who allegedly played a key role in Vivo’s money-laundering activities; chartered accountant Nitin Garg, who worked for Vivo; statutory auditor of Lava Rajan Malik.

They were arrested in October under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Also named as an accused in the chargesheet is Vivo, as a company.

ED’s investigation has revealed that Vivo incorporated 19 more companies in different cities following its entry into India in 2014. The directors and/or shareholders of these companies had Chinese nationals as their directors and/or shareholders, who controlled the supply chain of Vivo Mobiles in India.

“In order to avoid taking government approval, Vivo China devised a plan whereby they entered India under the garb of wholesale cash and carry business as part of criminal conspiracy to conceal its real ownership, control and nature of activities from Indian government authorities and entered India through automatic route,” ED, which initiated the probe in 2022, said in a statement in October.

“Vivo firmly adheres to its ethical principles and remains dedicated to legal compliance. The recent arrest deeply concerns us. We will exercise all available legal options,” Vivo said in October.

The central agency had raided offices of Vivo and associate companies in July last year.

Vivo is yet to respond on ED’s chargesheet.

The Rajasthan anti-corruption bureau (ACB) nabbed the official, identified as Naval Kishore Meena, and his associate Babulal Meena who were allegedly taking the bribe through a middleman.

According to the complainant, Naval Kishore and Babulal took the bribe in a chit fund case from Manipur. The duo was taking the bribe in return for dismissing the case, not arresting the guilty and seizing the property, a Rajasthan ACB statement said.

The initial demand was Rs 17 lakh before it was settled at Rs 15 lakh, the statement added.

After a complaint was lodged, Rajasthan ACB personnel conducted raids at several places in the state.

Naval Kishore was arrested by cops after he was trapped by the ACB in a case of disproportionate income against known source of earnings.

A 197-page chargesheet has been filed against 14 people under sections 44 and 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, Saurabh Pandey, the agency’s lawyer told CNN-News18. More than 8,800 pages have been cited as evidence.

Alleged kingpins of the scam and promoters of the app, Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal have been named as the main conspirators by the ED. The agency has accused the duo of gambling and laundering money through the app.

Pandey told News18 that the next leg of the investigation is focusing on Bollywood stars, influencers, and TV actors who were allegedly paid through Hawala to promote the app. ED officials said at least 19 A-listers, including those who performed at the wedding of Saurabh Chandrakar, are under the radar. “Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, and Huma Qureshi have been summoned for questioning but they are not cooperating. We are looking at the legal options we have,” Pandey told News18 at the Raipur district court after the prosecution complaint was filed. The court is likely to decide on cognizance on November 25.

The ED lawyer further said that the next leg of the probe will be to uncover the allegations of political patronage to the promoters of Mahadev App. “There is evidence to suggest that some cops in Chhattisgarh actively colluded with the accused and provided them protection. It is a matter of probe if this was done at the behest of political masters.”

Accused Satish Chandrakar has been named for facilitating the working of the Mahadev App when Ravi Uppal and Saurabh Chandrakar fled to Dubai. “Satish paid money and bought the ID for the Mahadev App. This ID was then used to get others to place bets using the app. The proceeds were split 70-30 by Satish Chandrakar and the Dubai-based promoters,” Pandey explained.

A policeman, Chandrabhushan Rai, has also been named for laundering proceeds of the crime from the app and allegedly misusing his position as a cop to protect the suspects. Rai’s relatives, whose ventures were allegedly used to launder money, have also been named along with a travel agency owner in Bhopal, the report said

Pandey said the agency will move soon for a Red Corner Notice against Uppal and Chandrakar.

The prosecution complaint was filed against Sk Ashik and his brother Sk Mohatab, before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Bhubaneswar on July 28. The court took cognisance of the chargesheet on Friday, the agency said in a statement.

The money laundering case stems from a state police crime branch (special task force) complaint that booked the brothers under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for the alleged possession of 3.26 kg of brown sugar a few years back, PTI reported.

A probe found that the two used to procure brown sugar, an adulterated form of Heroin drugs, from the narcotic peddlers of Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal, the agency said.

The vigilance directorate’s charge sheet alleges that Jena “illicitly benefited” himself and his family by obtaining assets worth a total of Rs 1.88 crore, which were out of proportion to his known sources of income.
According to the investigation conducted by the ED in the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Jena obtained money by engaging in illegal activity, disguising it, and using it to buy a variety of properties.