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
Blaze kills woman in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala; 10-day infant among 6 injured

Mumbai, April 26: A woman was killed and six people, including a 10-day-old infant, were injured in a fire in an high-rise building in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala in Andheri (West), early on Saturday, said the Mumbai Fire Brigade.
Abhina Kartik Sanjanvalia, 34, died on the way to Cooper Hospital. Her family member Kartik Sanjanvalia, 40, is undergoing treatment for smoke inhalation, said an official.
Five fire tenders fought the blaze, which started at around 2.40 am in Broke Land Building near Ashok Academy Lane, and restricted it to room number 104 on the first floor before extinguishing it at 5.30 a.m, said an official.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Mumbai Fire Brigade suspect that the fire in the eight floor building was sparked by an electric short circuit. However, the exact cause of the blaze is yet to be confirmed.
The blaze burnt down furniture, mattresses, clothes, split and window air-conditioners and electrical installations in the flat on the first floor, said an official.
The other injured residents taken to Kokilaben Hospital were identified as 10-day-old baby boy Pradumna Gupta, Rihan, 3, Daya Gupta, 21, Aparna Gupta, 41 and Polam Gupta, 40.
The incident revived painful memories of another fire incident in a 15-storey building in Lokhandwala last October which claimed the lives of three people, including a visually impaired citizen.
Soon after the fire in Riya Palace building, a 37-year-old building at Cross Road Number 4 of Lokhandwala Complex in Andheri, there were demands for opening a fire station on a plot allotted for the purpose in the area three decades ago.
The October 2024 blaze that broke out on the 10th floor of the building started around 8 am and was doused around 9 p.m. The victims were identified as Kanta Soni, 74, Chandraprakash Soni, 74, and Pelubeta, 42.
In another fire incident on Saturday in Maharashtra, a plywood godown was gutted in Thane district. The fire started around 3.30 a.m, in a three-storey building in Rahnal village in Bhiwandi and four fire tenders continued to battle the flames for hours.
A firefighter of the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) got a fracture in his leg during the operation to douse the blaze.
An official said due to a huge pile of plywood the blaze had posed a challenge to fire-fighters.
Crime
Tahawwur Rana denies role in Mumbai terror attack during interrogation (Ld)

Mumbai, April 26: Tahawwur Rana, the Pakistani-Canadian national accused of involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, has denied any role in the conspiracy during his interrogation by the Mumbai Crime Branch.
According to senior officials, Rana, who is currently in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Delhi, was questioned for over eight hours by a team of Mumbai Police officers.
During the interrogation, Rana distanced himself from the attacks that claimed over 166 lives and injured hundreds on November 26, 2008.
Rana reportedly told investigators that he had “no connection whatsoever” with the planning or execution of the attack.
He also claimed that his childhood friend and co-accused, David Coleman Headley, was solely responsible for the reconnaissance and planning aspects.
Headley, who turned approver in the case, had earlier admitted to conducting recce missions across India, including in Mumbai, on behalf of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
During questioning, Rana said that apart from Mumbai and Delhi, he had also travelled to Kerala.
When asked about the purpose of his visit to Kerala, he claimed he had gone there to meet a known acquaintance and had provided the individual’s name and address to the agency.
Following this, sources said a team from the Mumbai Crime Branch may soon travel to Kerala to verify his claims and question the said person.
Officials revealed that Rana was largely uncooperative during the interrogation and frequently gave evasive answers.
He also cited memory lapses, stating that he was unable to recall specific details related to the attack that occurred over 17 years ago.
The interrogation is part of an ongoing probe by the NIA into the extensive three-year groundwork carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) prior to the Mumbai terror attacks.
Rana is also being questioned about his alleged links to several individuals whose names surfaced in intercepted communications, including Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, Sajid Majid, Ilyas Kashmiri, and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi — all of whom are believed to have played crucial roles in the 26/11 conspiracy.
Rana, a former officer of the Pakistan Army’s Medical Corps, was extradited to India from the United States recently to face justice in the Mumbai attack case.
Crime
‘Rise against your govt, army for encouraging terrorism,’ Sunni cleric’s appeal to Pakistanis

Lucknow, April 24: In a strong condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack, senior Sunni cleric and Imam of Aishbagh Eidgah, Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali, on Thursday called on the people of Pakistan to rise against their government and military for facilitating acts of terror on Indian soil.
The remarks come after 26 people, most of them tourists, were gunned down in a brutal targeted terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam on Tuesday.
The Resistance Front, a Pakistan-based terror outfit and offshoot of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba, is suspected to be behind the massacre.
Speaking to Media, Firangi Mahali said, “The people of Pakistan should understand that no one will support such activities. They should raise their voices against their own government and army, which are encouraging these acts of terrorism.”
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced a series of stringent measures in response to the attack.
These include the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, closure of the Attari-Wagah border, cancellation of the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for Pakistani nationals, expulsion of Pakistan’s military attaches from New Delhi and a reduction in diplomatic staff at both High Commissions.
Calling these actions “necessary and timely,” Firangi Mahali stated, “The horrific incident of terrorism in Pahalgam has been condemned in the harshest terms. This tragic event has shaken the entire country. The steps taken by the Government of India — whether on the water agreement, diplomatic expulsions, or visa cancellations — are absolutely appropriate.”
Appealing for national unity, he urged political parties to come together on a single platform in support of the government’s decisions.
“This is not the time for political division. All parties must stand united so that a positive image of national solidarity is conveyed internationally,” he said.
The cleric also warned against communalising the tragedy. “My appeal to fellow Indians is not to view this terror incident through a religious lens. No religion condones violence or terrorism,” he said.
“Some of the posts circulating on social media are sending out a very negative message. In this hour of crisis, every Indian — regardless of religion or political affiliation — must stand together,” he added.
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