Crime
ED seizes unlisted shares worth Rs 293.91 cr of ‘MGM’ Maran

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it has seized assets worth Rs 293.91 crore belonging to Tamilnad Mercantile Bank’s (TMB) former Chairman Nesamanimaran Muthu alias MGM Maran under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
According to the ED, the seized assets are in the form of shareholdings in four Indian companies, namely, the Southern Agrifurane Industries Private Ltd, Anand Transport Private Ltd, MGM Entertainment Private Ltd, and MGM Diamond Beach Resorts Private Ltd.
Incidentally, the three of the companies are unlisted entitites.
The ED said Maran had incorporated two companies in Singapore during 2005-06 and 2006-07 and invested Singapore $5,29,86,250 equivalent to Indian Rs 293.91 crore, but the investment was made without Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) permission and non-disclosure to Indian regulators.
According to the agency, the provisions of Section 37A(1) empowers it to seize Indian asset of a person who has acquired assets in foreign country or made investment outside India without the approval of the RBI while he was a person resident in India.
Since the amount of foreign investment was SGD 5,29,86,250, the assets of equivalent value thereof of Rs 293.91 crore has been seized, it said.
Last year, the Adjudicating Authority under the FEMA had levied a penalty of Rs 35 crore on Maran for opening a bank account in Singapore and receiving foreign exchange to the tune of US$ 68,50,000 (equivalent to Rs 28.08 crore) in that account from a foreign entity.
The said payment is the consideration for facilitating and assigning the rights towards transfer of shares of the TMB in favour of Katra Holdings Ltd, consequent to a private agreement with that company. The penalty is also for failing to repatriate the said foreign exchange into India, the ED had said then.
The Adjudicating Authority had also fined Standard Chartered Bank Rs 100 crore and the TMB Rs 17 crore.
The ED had taken up the probe under FEMA based on reference received from the RBI to investigate advance remittances received by certain entities for purchase of the shares of the Tuticorin-headquartered TMB through escrow mechanism maintained with Standard Chartered Bank, Mumbai.
Following the probe, the ED had issued show cause notice to the TMB, its directors, Standard Chartered Bank and one of its officials for contravening FEMA.
In his adjudication order, the Special Director, ED, Southern Region imposed a penalty of Rs 11.33 crore on the TMB for recording in its books the transfer of 46,862 shares of the bank in the names of seven foreign entities viz. (i) RST Ltd (wholly owned by Ravi S. Trehan), Katra Holdings Ltd (wholly owned by Ramesh Vangal), GHI I Ltd (wholly owned by Rajat Gupta), Kamehameha (Mauritius) Ltd, FI Investments (Mauritius) Ltd, Cuna Group (Mauritius) Ltd, and Swiss Re Investors (Mauritius) Ltd.
The above seven entitities were not approved by the RBI for acquiring the shares of TMB.
A further penalty of Rs 5.66 crore was imposed on the TMB for its act of recording in its books, the subsequent transfer of 27,289 shares out of the above 46,862 shares in the names of two foreign entities – Sub-Continental Equities Ltd, Mauritius and Robert & Adris James Company Ltd, Mauritius, without the permission of the RBI.
Penalty has also been imposed on the directors of the Board of the TMB, who approved the recording of the transfer of shares of the bank.
The Standard Chartered Bank was held guilty of contravening FEMA for opening the Standard Chartered Bank Project Windmill (Sale Consideration) Escrow Account, without the RBI’s prior permission and for allowing deposits of Rs 113 crore and for having held 1,12,151 shares of the TMB in the said escrow account.
A penalty of Rs 34 crore was levied on the bank for the above contraventions.
Another Rs 66 crore penalty was levied on the Standard Chartered Bank for providing collateral/guarantee/taking into custody of TMB shares and original sale deeds of land in lieu of which Standard Chartered Bank, Mauritius granted a loan of US$ 55.40 million (equivalent to Rs 221 crore) to three foreign entities viz, Katra Holdings Ltd, Mauritius, RST Ltd, Cayman Islands, and GHI I Ltd, Cayman Islands, without any special permission from the RBI.
Crime
Kunal Kamra issued third summons by Mumbai Police, asked to appear for questioning today

Mumbai, April 5: Stand up comedian Kunal Kamra has been issued a third summons by Mumbai’s Khar Police, asking him to appear for questioning on Saturday.
This summons follows two previous attempts by the police to call Kamra in for investigation, but the comedian failed to show up for either of the earlier summons.
Kamra is under investigation for an alleged controversial comment that was understood to be an indirect swipe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The video, which aired following Kamra’s performance at the Habitat Comedy Club in Khar, saw the comedian using a modified version of a popular Bollywood song from ‘Dil To Pagal Hai.’ “Meri nazar se tum dekho toh, gaddar nazar wo aaye. Haaye,” Kunal Kamra said during his show which was understood to be a jibe at Shinde.
The comments, were perceived to be made in the context of the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis, which led to the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government, resulted in multiple FIRs being filed against Kamra.
Following the release of Kamra’s video on March 23, Shiv Sena workers, angered by his remarks, vandalised the Unicontinental Hotel in Khar where Kamra had recorded the video. This incident led to the arrest of 12 Shinde supporters, who were later granted bail.
In response to the summons, Kamra had earlier stated he was unavailable in Mumbai due to prior commitments and offered to appear for questioning on April 2.
However, the police did not accept his request for a delayed appearance.
Kamra’s lawyer, V. Suresh, had expressed concerns about Kamra’s safety, claiming he had received threats from certain Maharashtra Cabinet ministers.
Mumbai’s Khar Police Station is investigating the matter, with two FIRs already filed against Kamra for derogatory remarks. In addition, three more FIRs filed against him in different parts of Maharashtra have been combined into the Mumbai investigation.
The police have confirmed that Kamra is not currently in contact with the Khar police station. Kamra has been granted protection from arrest until April 7 by the Madras High Court, but the latest summons indicate that the investigation is moving forward despite his earlier refusals to comply.
Crime
Mumbai Five members of Lawrence Bishnoi gang arrested, Mumbai Crime Branch gives a shock to Bishnoi gang

Mumbai: Mumbai Crime Branch has claimed to have arrested five shooters of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi gang in a major operation. 5 revolvers and 21 live cartridges have been recovered from the possession of these shooters. Mumbai Police is also interrogating these shooters. Police arrested the attackers before they could execute the incident and averted the incident. Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested these five from Andheri area. They had come here with the intention of carrying out a major vandalism incident, but the police foiled the incident before that.
The arrested accused include Vikas Thakur, Samit Dilawar, Devendra Rupesh Saxena, Shreya Suresh Yadav, Vivek Gupta. Vikas Thakur is a resident of Versova Andheri, Samit Mukesh Kumar Dilawar is a resident of Sonipat, Haryana, Devendra Rupesh Saxena is a resident of Madhya Pradesh, Shreya Suresh Yadav is a resident of Jagdishpur, Bihar and Vivek Kumar Gupta is a resident of Rampur, Rajasthan.
Weapons have been recovered from their possession and the Crime Branch has registered a case against them under Section 3 and 25 of the BNS, Section 55 and 61 (2) and Maharashtra Police Act. The Crime Branch is investigating where the accused brought the weapons from.
After the shooting of Salman Khan, Lawrence Bishnoi gang is trying to become active in Mumbai, but due to the strict action of Mumbai Crime Branch, the back of the gang has been broken and now the Crime Branch has given a big blow to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and arrested five of its members. The Crime Branch is further investigating the matter.
Crime
Mumbai Malad Gudi Padwa violence: Three arrested, situation peaceful, police alert, DCP Asmita Hotel

Mumbai: After the violence on Gudi Padwa in Malad, Mumbai, the situation is now peaceful here, but despite this, politics has also started on this issue and an attempt has been made to spread communal tension by giving it a Hindu-Muslim color. On the occasion of Gudi Padwa, a local youth attacked five minors passing in front of Noorani Mosque. In this case, the police has controlled the situation and so far three people have been arrested. A case of rioting has also been registered against them. The crowd is also being identified. The accused have been identified on the basis of CCTV and three people have been arrested. Along with this, after getting control of the situation, the police has put Malad on high alert and is also keeping an eye on communal elements.
Now communal elements have started trying to spoil the atmosphere in Mumbai, so the police is also keeping an eye on social media. Local DCP Smita Patil said that the situation in Malad Maloni is peaceful and action is being taken against the miscreants. Arrests are also continuing after examining CCTV footage and other footage.
So far three people have been arrested in this case, one of whom is Sharan, who attacked the minor. In this case, Vishwa Hindu Parishad Bajrang Dal has given an ultimatum to the police that if they do not arrest the accused as soon as possible, they will protest. In this case, the DCP has made tight security arrangements at all places and has also appealed not to pay attention to rumors and not to share unverified videos or controversial posts on social media. The police is on alert to maintain law and order in Mumbai and Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Panchalkar has issued strict instructions.
Sanjay Nirupam’s venomous attack on the violence on Gaddi Padwa
After the violence on Gudi Padwa, Sanjay Nirupam has made many serious allegations against the police, he has accused the police of delaying action and protecting the accused. He has questioned the action of Mumbai Police and said that the main accused Sharan and his mother do not allow Hindus to celebrate their festivals and their hooliganism continues here. Sanjay Nirupam has called Muslims Jihadis. Sanjay Nirupam said that the police took action when pressure was put on them.
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