Mumbai, March 27: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai Zonal Office, has provisionally attached an immovable property worth Rs 19.12 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with the National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) case, officials said on Friday.

Sources said the attached property is linked to the LOIL Group, one of the key defaulters in the NSEL case.

The money laundering probe stems from an FIR registered at MRA Marg police station, which is being investigated by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police under various sections of the IPC against NSEL, its directors, key officials and 25 defaulters.

According to the ED, its probe has revealed that NSEL and its defaulting members were involved in criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery by allowing trading in commodities without actual underlying stocks, allegedly defrauding around 13,000 investors of nearly Rs 5,600 crore.

The investigation further revealed that three defaulting members—LOIL Overseas Foods Ltd, LOIL Continental Foods Ltd and LOIL Health Foods Ltd (collectively referred to as the LOIL Group)—fraudulently raised funds through fictitious sale transactions of paddy on the NSEL platform.

The agency said the total liability of the LOIL Group towards NSEL stands at Rs 720.30 crore. Scrutiny of bank records revealed that around Rs 569.04 crore was siphoned off from NSEL settlement accounts of the group entities.

A substantial portion of the diverted funds was allegedly layered through various group entities, including Lakshmi Energy & Foods Limited, and used for repayment of bank loans, business operations, working capital requirements and acquisition of immovable properties.

With this latest action, the ED has now issued 34 provisional attachment orders in the NSEL case, bringing the total value of seized assets to approximately Rs 3,452.16 crore. To date, seven prosecution complaints have been filed against 148 accused persons before the Special PMLA Court, which has already taken cognizance of the charges.

Mumbai, March 27: Maharashtra Fisheries and Ports Minister Nitesh Rane on Friday announced that an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based project will be implemented to enhance mango and cashew cultivation in Sindhudurg district.

Initially, 400 farmers—200 each cultivating mango and cashew—will be selected for the pilot phase. The project aims to digitise farms by collecting basic data such as farmers’ names, contact details and village information. Based on the success of the initial phase, the initiative will be expanded to include more farmers.

The proposal was presented by experts from ADT Krishi Vigyan Kendra Baramati in the presence of agricultural scientists and officials, including representatives from Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth.

Under the project, sensors will be installed to monitor soil health, crop conditions and yield patterns. Farmers will receive training and awareness about AI technology through group-based sessions conducted over a 150-day initial phase.

The use of drones for pesticide spraying is expected to significantly reduce time from several days to just a few hours, ensuring quicker and more effective disease control. Additionally, AI-based predictive models will help detect crop diseases in advance, reducing excessive pesticide use and curbing black marketing.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has made it clear that the lockdown will not be implemented. If anyone spreads rumors and shares misleading information on social media, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, a criminal case will be registered against him. The Chief Minister said that the Central Government has made it clear regarding the lockdown that the lockdown will not be implemented, so do not spread such rumors. On the shortage of gas and oil in the Iran-Israel war, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that India has a month’s supply of oil and gas, so no one should try to create an artificial shortage and do not hoard by lining up at the petrol pump. If anyone does so, it will create an artificial shortage. To prevent oil prices from increasing due to the war, 10% excise duty has been reduced so that consumers do not have to bear the burden of this. The oil companies will bear it, and the government will also cooperate in this. He said that even in a crisis situation, the situation in India is better. He has made it clear that a cut was made in the commercial cylinder, but it has now been brought to 50%. He said that there is no shortage of petrol and diesel and please do not spread any rumors. The situation is better. Even in such situations, no charge has been increased on anything including petrol and diesel. For this, I thank the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Due to India’s better foreign policy, the situation will soon return to normal.