The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is a central agency working directly under the Ministry of Finance, tasked with investigating and enforcing laws related to financial offenses. Its origin goes back to 1 May, 1956, when an Enforcement Unit was formed in the Department of Economic Affairs for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947. The following year, this Unit was renamed as Enforcement Directorate.
The ED’s mandate encompasses investigating offenses under significant legislative frameworks such as the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Foreign Exchange Management Act of 1999 (FEMA), and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act of 2018 (FEOA). The agency investigates individuals and entities involved in financial wrongdoing. This may include tracing illicit funds, seizing assets acquired through illegal means, and prosecuting offenders to ensure accountability and deterrence.
Headquartered in New Delhi, the ED operates through a network of regional offices in Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Kolkata.
It is an open secret that Amitabh Jhunjhunwala was the mastermind behind raising loans using inflated assets, and then pump shares of group companies in connivance with manipulators like Sanjay Dangi. Unless ED probes jhunjhunwala’s private office headquarters in Singapore, the money trail won’t be established. Isn’t that what they want by locating the foreign assets (in name or benami).
Sateesh is at best a glorified munim who moves money for his master between multiple companies in the most shoddy way. Else ED Won’t have called Ambani for a grilling session. Nor would Anil Ambani would have been public ally humiliated during 2g and coal scams.
Anil Ambani’s plight is due to these 2 closest confidants of his, who once started as normal employees but each of them has a net worth higher that their boss Anil Ambani. Whispers also indicate that the loan books and the relationship with bankers like Rana Kapoor was Jhunjhunwala’s department.. so were the circular transactions.
This article does outline the whole case beautifully and gives ample direction for investigators to look into, if they are indeed serious to catch the culprits. But a lot depends on whether Amitabh Jhunjhunwala appear last before ED today. If he does then in all likelihood Sateesh Seth Won’t go back home on Thursday..
Anil Ambani has all the reasons to safeguard Jhunjhunwala, who controls the billions siphoned abroad. And if both Ambani and Jhunjhunwala have to go scot free, Sateesh Seth will have to be the fall guy and spend some years behind bars. Maybe that’s what the duo have planned, as this weeks final grilling is going to be of Sateesh Seth, unless a cat has more than 9 lives.
After all the one who gets his hands dirty is the one who leaves all traces.. just that the investigators have to sniff and find his initials in his own handwriting on some interesting n documents already in their possession.
Anil Ambani’s smile while leaves ED office after 9 hours of grilling (or grilled sandwiches) shows it all.. All is well for him, so far.
This may just be the tip of the iceberg. Going by past stories on this group, every listed company of theirs has come under some of the other allegation of unethical business practices.
Unless their entire top management is interrogated and their internal bank transfer details are put in public, the magnanimity of the irregularities can’t be estimated.
Old employees share ghory details how one of the top executives called as ambanis left hand used to pressurise them to do questionable dummy contracts. Whether Ambani knew is a matter of debate.
Another top former Bigwig (the right hand) is often alleged to be the brain behind the money movements. Though public ally it is said that he left the group after issues with Ambani; many still say that he handles the misappropriated funds sitting out of Singapore. Often investing in public ally traded companies of this group to pump the valuations. When he appears (if he does) in front of ED officials, his interrogation may leave a lot of unanswered questions. Bad memory and recollection of old deals is a ready excuse.
As Ambani and his two stooges have still not filed for anticipatory bail, the chances are that ED may leave them after questioning.
The truth is highly unlikely to come out, as Ambanis army of spin doctors must be working overtime, with the funds in bank accounts or CLE