New Delhi, October 24 — The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) arrested Baneet Singh Talwar on Friday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a major case linked to large-scale narcotics smuggling, the agency said in an official statement on Saturday, IANS reported.

Source: IANS via Dailyworld

Talwar, son of the late Harminder Singh, was produced before the Special Judge (PMLA), Tis Hazari Courts (West District), on Friday and remanded to five days of ED custody, the ED press note said, according to IANS.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

Rs 89 croreProceeds of crime identified so far by the ED — yaani about Rs 890 million
Rs 76 croreDrug-sale proceeds the ED alleges were sent via hawala to Afghanistan
5 daysED custody granted by the Tis Hazari special court
6 charge sheetsAlready filed by the NIA in the linked case, the ED said

The ED probe began from an FIR registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the NDPS Act and the Indian Penal Code against Harpreet Singh Talwar — Baneet's brother — and others, the statement said. The NIA has filed six charge sheets alleging a conspiracy with an international drug-smuggling syndicate operating from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Dubai under alleged mastermind Vitaysh Koser alias Raju Dubai, along with Pakistani ISI agents and Afghan nationals, according to the ED statement reported by IANS. These are allegations, not findings of a court.

Source: IANS via Dailyworld

The ED alleged that Baneet Singh Talwar continued to manage business entities under his brother's beneficial control even after Harpreet's arrest by the NIA, and that he provided more than Rs 55 lakh to M/s Magent India, an entity the agency says was controlled by Harpreet and involved in narcotics smuggling, Nation Press reported in its account of the ED statement. The agency also alleged round-tripping of funds, cash deposits used to buy vehicles in benami names, and proceeds parked in immovable properties — all allegations that remain to be tested in court.

Source: Nation Press

The ED described the arrest as part of a whole-of-government approach to dismantle the nexus of narcotics trafficking, money laundering and hawala transactions, and said further investigation is in progress, IANS reported.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA