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Written by Khushboo Narayan | Mumbai | Updated: March 1, 2018 The government’s Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) is probing at least 30 jewellers from Gujarat and Maharashtra who have significant cash dealings with billionaire diamond jeweller Nirav Modi, accused of fraudulent transactions of over Rs 7,000 crore at Punjab National Bank (PNB). According to sources, the SFIO is probing cash sales and purchases made by Modi through these jewellers. The SFIO also suspects that these jewellers were providing “bogus invoices” of purchase and sales for diamonds and pearls to Modi. These fake invoices, sources said, could have been used by Modi for availing maximum working capital limits from the consortium of lenders. “The agency has identified 30 local jewellers from Surat and Mumbai who were dealing with Nirav Modi in cash. These jewellers are a crucial link in the case as they could have helped Modi in round tripping if any,” said a source. The sources said while

Written by Deeptiman Tiwary | Published: March 1, 2018 CBI arrested Karti Chidambaram in connection with the INX Media case Wednesday. It said Chidambaram had been resisting summons for questioning, and not cooperating with investigations. In the lone questioning session he attended, Karti was evasive and gave incorrect statements in the face of evidence — therefore, he had to be arrested, CBI said. However, the grounds for the arrest were probably laid as early as in 2008, even before INX Media secured all clearances from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). In January 2008, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND) flagged foreign direct investment of over Rs 305 crore by three Mauritius-based companies in INX Media Pvt Ltd (now called 9X Media Pvt Ltd), formerly owned by Peter and Indrani Mukerjea. The FIU alert was picked up by the investigation wing of the Income-Tax (I-T) Department in Mumbai, which subsequently forwarded the case to the Enforcement Direct

Written by Suhas Palshikar | Published: March 1, 2018 12:07 am An army chief making headlines for the wrong reasons is a painful sight. Some months ago, it was about the incident of the human shield and the general’s views on fighting the dirty war. This time, General Bipin Rawat has connected his theory of dirty war to domestic politics. With his latest remarks on matters as wide ranging as the sociology of migration, electoral surge of parties and, parenthetically, the security ideology of our armed forces, the current army chief has not merely betrayed the breadth of his expertise but also the weaknesses of prudence, politics and principle that he suffers from. Earning trust is a long-term project requiring patience, foresight and statesmanship. Squandering trust requires only momentary impetuosity and audacious claims to greater wisdom. Unpleasant and unfortunate though it would appear, the present incumbent of the high office of the chief of army staff seems to be repeat

By: FE Bureau | New Delhi | Published: March 1, 2018 5:59 AM In a major boost to Make in India, the Defence Acquisition Council on Wednesday approved procurement of 41,000 light machine guns (LMGs) and more than 3.5 lakh close quarter battle carbines under the buy-and-make (Indian) category. These weapons are an essential component of soldiers’ fighting equipment and will provide a major fillip to the fighting capability of the troops. The DAC meeting decided that of total quantities envisaged, 75% will be through the Indian industry under the buy-and-make (Indian) category and the remaining through the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). The earmarked quantity for the OFB has been kept to optimally utilise its infrastructure and capacity as well as provide a window for assimilation of critical technologies towards building indigenous capability in small arms manufacturing. The total cost for procurement of carbines and LMGs for soldiers of the three services is Rs 4,607 crore

By: FE Bureau | Chennai | Published: March 1, 2018 5:44 AM The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested R Subramanian, the founder of erstwhile discount retail chain Subhiksha, in a bank cheating case. ED sources said that the arrest was made in a case of alleged cheating and that he has been remanded in jail by the metropolitan magistrate of a local court. The case was filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). A source from the ED said that they had been looking into a case relating to a fraud of about Rs 77 crore. “The loan taken from Bank of Baroda was diverted for purposes other than it was intended,” he said. The CBI had also been on the hunt for him after a complaint was filed by Bank of Baroda. Earlier, in 2015, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Tamil Nadu police had arrested Subramanian for allegedly cheating depositors. The amount involved was Rs 150 crore. In March 2016, ED had attached assets to the tune of Rs 4.5 crore of the accused in a c

Mar 01, 2018 WASHINGTON: A top US general has dispelled the impression that the United States and Pakistan were on a collision course, saying they valued the military-to-military relationship with Pakistan. Gen Joseph Votel — who as head of the Central Command is responsible for all US military operations in the Pakistan-Afghan region — told a congressional panel on Tuesday that the US had preserved the valuable military-to-military relationship with Pakistan and attempted to increase transparency and communication with military leaders. In doing so, the US continues to press its serious concerns about Pakistan’s alleged provision of sanctuary and support to militant and terrorist groups that target US personnel and interests, he added. “Achieving long-term stability in Afghanistan and defeating the insurgency will be difficult without Pakistan’s support and assistance,” said Gen Votel while explaining why he believed maintaining this military-to-military relationship

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Updated: Feb 28, 2018, NEW DELHI: After days of rampant speculation, Pakistan today confirmed that the country is set to be placed on the Financial Action Task Force's terror financing watchlist in June this year, the Dawn reported. Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said at a press briefing that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) took the decision to once again add Pakistan on its so-called "grey list", comprising nations that are not doing enough to combat terrorism financing, at its plenary session last week. Firmly dismissing the possibility that the country will be placed on the anti money-laundering watchdog's blacklist, Faisal said an action plan to eradicate terror financing is being prepared and will be shared with the international body. "Pakistan will be placed on the (FATF) 'grey list' in June, but there is currently no chance of (its) placement on the blacklist," the FO s

What do you do when you’re in the middle of a meeting organised by an international watchdog to monitor funding for terror groups, where you might be put on the grey-list for failing to stop funding for terror groups? You increase funding for terror groups. On Thursday, the exact same day that the US had called the second review of Pakistan during the FATF meeting in Paris, wherein – as was later discovered – both China and Saudi Arabia backed out from supporting Pakistan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government decided to allocate funds of Rs277 million for Darul Uloom Haqqania. The move could not have been better timed had all of Pakistan’s enemies, the biggest of which it is itself, had conspired in unison. Darul Uloom Haqqania is the alma mater of multiple batches, and at least three generations, of the Taliban. The fact that it continues to exist and function exactly how it wants to is owing to the small technicality that differentiating between

Indrajit Kundu New Delhi February 28, 2018 Kerala-based Popular Front of India (PFI), which is under the National Investigation Agencys (NIA) scanner for its alleged terror links, is willing to provide aid to the only refugee camp for Rohingyas in the country. Last September, the NIA had recommended banning the PFI. From 29 refugees a month ago, the strength of the camp, located at Harda village, under South 24 Parganas (West Bengal), has risen to 100. Hossain Gazi, whose NGO Desh Bachao Samajik Committee runs the camp, told India Today, We have already met PFI members thrice. Once they came to meet us and twice we attended their meetings. The PFI told Gazi that it will provide aid to the camp if the government refuses to help. West Bengal PFI leaders recently promised us help, Gazi said. Though the Centre has instructed state governments to deport Rohingyas, Gazi hopes that the Mamata Banerjee government will arrange Voter ID/Aadhaar cards for the refugees so that they

Reuters, New Delhi, February 28, 2018  The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested an internal auditor of a Punjab National Bank branch that is at the heart of a $2 billion alleged fraud, a police spokesman said. The arrested auditor M K Sharma was "allegedly responsible for auditing the systems and practices" of the bank's Brady House branch in Mumbai and report deficiencies to zonal audit office, the spokesman said. Reference http://www.business-standard.com/article/reuters/cbi-arrests-pnb-bank-internal-auditor-in-2-billion-fraud-118022801034_1.html

MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 28 Our Frequent mining bans and restrictions on ore production has pushed India out of the top 91 countries rated on the basis on investment potential in mining. According to the recent Fraser Institute Annual Survey of Mining Companies, India was ranked 97 out of 104 in the area of Investment Attractiveness Index in 2016, and 73 in 2015. The Fraser Institute Annual Survey of Mining Companies conducted last year dropped the country out of the list of 91 countries. The survey had ranked India 97 out of 104 in the area of Investment Attractiveness Index in 2016, and 73 in 2015 The countries are ranked by combining a metric, ‘Best Practices Mineral Potential’ index — which rates regions based on their geologic attractiveness — and the ‘Policy Perception Index’ — which measures the effects of government policy on attitudes toward exploration investment. However, the investment decisions are not made on Policy Perception Index alone and are often b

BARCELONA, FEBRUARY 27 In an effort to expand its footprint in the telecom sector, India will explore opportunities along with the UK to provide telecom services such as information communication technology (ICT) in other developing countries together. “We held a very fruitful meeting with the delegation from the UK. We spoke about collaborating with them to offer telecom services in other countries so that their citizens can enjoy the benefits of technology through telecom. They have responded positively,” Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha told reporters at the Mobile World Congress (MWC). “This will also help India expand its telecom footprint. They have responded positively,” he noted. “We also hope to enrich our understanding of new directions and technologies over the next few days so that we can assess, refine, adopt, and deploy them in support of our ongoing mission of Digital India,” he said. The key areas Some of the key areas of interest are 5G, the internet

By Rajat Arora Mar 01, 2018, 06.24 AM IST  NEW DELHI: In a big boost to government’s asset monetisation programme, Sydney-headquartered Macquarie group has won the Toll Operate Transfer (TOT) bid of nine national highways with a total length of just under 700 km. The company has placed the bid of Rs 9,681 crore as against government’s expectations of Rs 6,258 crore. This is the first such asset recycling process that has been undertaken by the government.  “The bid is almost 50% high than what we were expecting. Macquarie has emerged the highest bidder. Ashoka Buildcon will be their operations and maintenance partner in India,” Rohit Kumar Singh, member-finance, NHAI, told ET.  “Such valuation by the long-term capital providers also reflects that there is a great appetite for wellstructured public initiative. To my knowledge, this is one of the largest FDIs in public infrastructure where such quantum of money would be received upfront,” he added.  Funds generated from

Faizan Mustafa, Mar 01, 2018 Encounter killings militate against the rule of law Cicero famously said, “We are in bondage to the law in order that we may be free.” John Adams said about the Massachusetts Constitution that it was intended to have a “government of laws not of men”. The rule of law has rightly been argued to be part of the basic structure of the Indian Constitution. It is an unqualified human good. The World Justice Project Index takes into account 44 indicators in 113 countries, and India’s rank in 2017-18 was a dismal 62. Denmark topped the list. In fact, our criminal justice system ranks even lower, at 66. Nepal is ahead of us on this. Police encounters, which have become a common phenomenon, do contribute to our low rank on ‘rule of law’ index. Measure of arbitrariness Rule of law is the fundamental principle of governance of any civilised liberal democracy. It is the anti-thesis of arbitrariness. Yet, the Uttar Pradesh government looks somewhat determ

Written by Amitav Ranjan | New Delhi | Updated: March 1, 2018 6:53 am RED-faced over diamantaire  Nirav Modi  slipping out of the country, the Ministry of Home Affairs last Friday directed the Bureau of Immigration not to allow promoters of companies that have defaulted on their bank loans to leave the country. “They have been told not to allow them through the emigration check point and to turn them back,” sources said. “No arrests have to be made.” These persons, they said, would be allowed to travel only when the individual submits a court order permitting him or her to travel abroad for a specific purpose, mainly for medical treatment. However, for such relaxation, the identified defaulters would have to pledge a collateral and indemnify that their family members would reside in the country during their absence. Sources said the direction was issued after the Reserve Bank of India provided the list of defaulters that was handed to the Ministry of External Affairs for prov

Written by Deeptiman Tiwary | New Delhi | Updated: March 1, 2018 2:17 am The CBI has booked Kolkata-based computer company RP Infosystems Ltd and its directors for allegedly defrauding Canara Bank of more than Rs 500 crore in loans on the basis of forged stocks and debtors’ statements and wilfully defaulting on the loan amount by diverting it. One of the company directors booked in the case, Shibaji Panja, was at one point said to be close to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He has been arrested earlier by the Delhi Police and booked by the CBI in connection with loan frauds. In February 2015, Panja had been arrested while returning from Dhaka with Banerjee. West Bengal Police had detained him on the basis of a lookout circular issued by Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing. Panja had accompanied Banerjee as a non-official delegate on a three-day visit to Bangladesh. Banerjee had at the time distanced herself from Panja, saying that what businessmen in her

Hamid Shalizi and James Mackenzie, WED FEB 28, 2018 / 10:25 AM EST (Reuters) - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani offered recognition of the Taliban as a legitimate political group on Wednesday as part of a proposed political process that he said could lead to talks aimed at ending more than 16 years of war. The offer, made at the start of an international conference aimed at creating a platform for peace talks, adds to a series of signals from both the Western-backed government and the Taliban suggesting a greater willingness to consider dialogue. Ghani proposed a ceasefire and a release of prisoners as part of a range of options including new elections, involving the militants, and a constitutional review as part of a pact with the Taliban to end a conflict that last year alone killed or wounded more than 10,000 Afghan civilians. "We are making this offer without preconditions in order to lead to a peace agreement," Ghani said in opening remarks to the conferen