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ED arrests one in Rs 2,200 crore PMLA case

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 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said that it has arrested Pavitra Pradip Walvekar, the promoter director cum CEO of Kudos Finance and Investment Private Limited, an NBFC company in connection with a prevention of money laundering case.

His arrest was made at Hyderabad by a team of ED officials. The probe agency produced him before a special court and said that he wasn’t needed for further interrogation. After this the court remanded Pavitra to 15 days judicial custody.

The ED has been conducting money laundering investigation against a number of Indian NBFC companies which are in the business of instant personal loans via mobile apps.

The ED has found that various fintech companies backed by Chinese funds have made agreements with these NBFC companies for providing instant personal micro loans of term ranging from 7 days to 14 days.

Ms Kudos NBFC ‘purportedly’ engages FinTech (digital lending partners) Companies as a Service Provider to assist in identifying prospective customers, verifying their eligibility, collection of information/documents, conducting due diligence, collecting pre-disbursement documents, arranging execution of the loan agreement, assisting with collections and recovery of principal and interest payments and attending service requests/product related queries for the retail loans offered by the Company.

Although it is projected that the NBFC is engaging Fintech companies for the above activities, but in reality they are allowing the Fintech companies to misuse the valuable NBFC license of Kudos.

“Ms Kudos has a paltry Net Owned Fund (NOF), but it is taking huge amount as ‘security deposits’ and then opening separate Merchant ID (MID) with payment gateways for each fintech app and then depositing this security in the MID of the respective fintech app,” said an ED official.

Kudos company has no mobile app of its own. It is not involved in the lending business at all. It has miniscule staff and is blindly allowing fintech companies to operate at the back of MOU between self (NBFC) and Fintech Mobile app companies. Thus, the entire lending operation is being done by the fintech app from its own funds. Kudos is only lending its license and the fintech apps are the ones acting like the real NBFCs and doing end to end micro lending and reaping majority of the benefits. In return Kudos is taking a commission without doing any due diligence or hard work.

“Entire decisions regarding fixation of interest rate, processing fee were taken by fintech companies and these companies were operating on the basis of instructions from Chinese beneficial owners. They capture customers’ data by getting access to their mobile contacts, media. In order to obtain more profits and to maintain high recovery rate, their call centres resorted to harsh recovery measures by using abusive language to entire phone list and contacts and misuse of social media privileges. Unable to bear the level of harassment, certain people have committed suicides,” said an ED official.

The official said that at the time of crediting the loan amount, the apps would deduct 15-25 per cent of the amount as processing fee and on the remaining amount they were charging very high interest rate.

“Fund trail investigation done by ED revealed that despite having NOF of only Rs 10 crore, Kudos circulated loans over Rs 2,200 crore in its name and it was entirely funded by 39 fintech companies who are now not responding to summons and have shutdown their operations and are absconding,” said the ED official.

In the entire business, fintech companies have gained a total profit of around Rs 544 crore and Kudos has gained a profit of around Rs 24 crore.

This entire arrangement is in complete violation of the RBI guidelines on NBFCs and thus, the entire profit of Rs 568 crore is nothing but proceeds of crime.

The source of funds with the fintech companies is also suspect and is being investigated.

Despite repeated opportunities, Pavitra Pradip Walvekar was not revealing the real identity and beneficial owners of the 39 apps with whom they were in business for more than a year.

The ED has alleged that instead of cooperating with the investigation, he had been making active attempts to obstruct the free and fair investigation.

Crime

Mumbai Drug Case: Boyfriend Of Peddler Ashwini Paul Taken Into Custody For Supplying Ecstasy Pills

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Mumbai: The Mumbai Police on Tuesday took into custody Aamir Sayyed, the boyfriend of arrested drug peddler Ashwini Paul, from jail in connection with an Ecstasy pills drug case.

According to police sources, Aamir Sayyed is suspected to have supplied around 5,000 Ecstasy pills that were recovered from Ashwini Paul. Investigators are now probing the source of the contraband and his wider network.

Earlier, the Anti-Narcotics Cell had arrested Ashwini Paul from Titwala on Saturday with a massive consignment of Ecstasy tablets reportedly valued at around ₹6 crore. Two other accused were also arrested in the case.

During the investigation, Sayyed’s name surfaced as a key supplier. However, police found that he was already lodged in jail. He was subsequently taken into custody for questioning in this case.

Officials revealed that Sayyed had previously been arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in a cocaine seizure case. After being released on bail, he allegedly resumed drug trafficking activities.

His bail was cancelled in February after he repeatedly failed to appear for court hearings, following which the DRI sent him back to jail.

Police said that during his bail period, Sayyed had supplied Ecstasy pills to Ashwini Paul for distribution. Further investigation is underway.

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Crime

Minor Scratch On Two-Wheeler Snowballs Into Violent Youth Brawl At Telephone Exchange Chowk In Nagpur

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Nagpur: A shocking late-night clash at Telephone Exchange Chowk in Nagpur has come to light after a video of the incident surfaced online, showing two groups of youths brutally attacking each other following a minor dispute over a scratch on a two-wheeler.

The incident took place around 11 pm on Monday when two groups of young men, who were allegedly under the influence of alcohol, were on their way to a Savji hotel for dinner. The situation reportedly spiralled out of control after one group allegedly scratched the bike of the other, triggering a heated argument.

What initially began as a verbal spat soon turned into a violent street brawl. The visuals circulating online show members of both groups exchanging blows in the middle of the road, with the fight quickly intensifying. In the video, youths can be seen raining kicks and punches on each other, while also using sticks and whatever objects they could find nearby to attack their rivals.

The ferocity of the clash is evident in the footage, which shows complete chaos unfolding. At one point, several individuals are seen falling to the ground during the assault, while others continue the attack in full public view. The video further shows that after the violence subsided, one group began leaving the spot while members of the other group, who had collapsed on the road, were seen trying to help each other get back on their feet.

The incident has raised serious concerns over how quickly minor disagreements can snowball into dangerous and potentially fatal confrontations. That a dispute allegedly triggered by a scratch on a scooter could escalate into such a brutal attack has once again drawn attention to rising street violence and reckless behaviour, particularly when alcohol is involved.

The disturbing visuals have since gone viral on social media, sparking outrage and concern among viewers. The incident serves as yet another reminder of how unchecked anger and intoxication can turn a trivial matter into a life-threatening episode within minutes.

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CCTV captures brutal Mumbai assault linked to Yusuf Pathan’s relatives

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Mumbai, April 21: CCTV footage has emerged showing relatives of Yusuf Pathan, including his father-in-law, assaulting a Mumbai resident and his family following a dispute triggered by water splashing from a passing car in the Byculla area.

According to police, all identified accused have been arrested except one, after the incident came to light through video evidence and witness statements. The father-in-law of the Trinamool Congress MP was taken into custody on Monday along with his son and another relative. The three accused are alleged to have attacked a local resident and his family members two days earlier.

Officials from the Byculla Police Station said the CCTV footage forms a crucial part of the investigation and clearly captures the sequence of events leading to the assault.

The visuals show one individual, linked to the accused group, approaching the complainant’s vehicle and smashing its windshield using a bamboo stick or a similar object after water splashed on him from the car passing through a pothole.

Subsequently, a larger group, including those identified as Khalid Khan alias Makaliq — reported to be Yusuf Pathan’s father-in-law — along with his son Umarshad Khan, Shoaib Khan and another accused, Shehbaz Pathan, can be seen confronting the victim, Yusuf Khan, and his family members.

The footage depicts the accused carrying bamboo sticks and a baseball bat and aggressively attacking the victims. Multiple strikes are visible in the video, with scenes of chaos as the victims attempt to shield themselves while others try to intervene.

Police said the assault resulted in serious injuries, including a fractured hand suffered by the victim’s brother-in-law, Salman, and significant injuries to his uncle, Zaki Ahmed. The damaged vehicle, with its shattered windshield, is also visible in the footage.

Investigators stated that the assailants are clearly identifiable in the CCTV visuals, which have been used as primary evidence along with statements from eyewitnesses.

According to police, the clarity of the footage enabled them to identify the accused without ambiguity, leading to the swift arrest of three individuals, while one accused remains at large.

Further investigation into the case is ongoing, officials said.

The case has been registered under Sections 118(2), 115(2), 324, 352, 351(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

As per the police, the incident occurred on Saturday night around 9 p.m. when a local, Yusuf Khan (30), was returning home. Water from a pothole allegedly splashed onto another individual, identified as Shoaib Khan (35), after Yusuf Khan’s vehicle passed through it.

Yusuf Khan told police that he immediately stopped his car and apologised for the incident. However, Shoaib allegedly began abusing him verbally and damaged the car’s windshield using a bamboo stick before physically assaulting him, causing injuries.

After reaching home, Yusuf Khan’s family advised him to lodge a complaint with the police.

While heading towards the police station, Yusuf Khan allegedly encountered Khalid Khan, also known as ‘Makalik’ (Yusuf Pathan’s father-in-law). Police said Khalid was accompanied by his son, Umarsad Pathan (35), Shoaib Pathan and another accused, Shehbaz Pathan.

According to investigators, the group allegedly initiated another confrontation and attacked Yusuf Khan and his relatives using bamboo sticks and baseball bats.

During the assault, Yusuf Khan’s brother Salman suffered a fractured arm, while his uncle Zaki Ahmed sustained serious injuries. Police said Shehbaz Pathan remains absconding, while the other three accused have been arrested and booked for assault and causing grievous injuries.

The arrested accused were produced before a court, which remanded them to judicial custody.

Police said the action was based on CCTV footage, witness statements and the recovery of weapons used in the attack, including bamboo sticks and baseball bats. Investigators informed the court that the accused were clearly identified through CCTV visuals as well as by eyewitnesses.

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