Covid testing scam: ED raids multiple labs for fake testing during Kumbh Mela
New Delhi, Aug 6: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted multiple raids in connection with a money laundering probe into fake Covid testing during the recently-held Kumbh mela in Uttarakhand's Haridwar.
Searches were conducted at the offices of Novus Path Labs, DNA Labs, Max Corporate Services, Dr Lal Chandani Labs Pvt Ltd and Nalwa Laboratories Pvt Ltd and also at the residential premises of their directors in Dehradun, Haridwar, Delhi, Noida and Hisar, the agency said in a statement.
The ED said it has seized "incriminating documents, bogus bills, laptops, mobile phones and property documents and Rs 30.9 lakh cash" during the raids that were ongoing.
The agency recently registered a criminal case under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against the accused companies and their directors after studying Uttarakhand Police FIRs against them.
This was followed by the raids.
These labs were given the contract by the Uttarakhand government for conducting rapid antigen and RT-PCR tests for coronavirus during the Kumbh Mela, the ED said.
These labs hardly carried out any COVID-19 test and made "fake entries" for the testing and raised "bogus" bills in order to earn illegal financial gains, it said.
"An amount of Rs 3.4 crore has already been received by them from Uttarakhand government as part payment," the ED said.
The agency said its investigation found that the "modus operandi used by these labs was that they used single mobile number or a false mobile number, single address or same specimen referral form (SRF) for multiple persons for showing the inflated numbers of coronavirus testing without actually doing the testing".
"Testing was claimed to be done in the name of the persons who never visited the Kumbh mela in Haridwar," it claimed.
Due to false negative testing by these labs, positivity rate of Haridwar at that time was shown at 0.18 per cent against the actual 5.3 per cent, the ED said.
One of the world's largest religious gatherings, the Kumbh was held in the state from April 1 to 30, and the notified area for the congregation covered various places in Haridwar, Dehradun, and Tehri districts.
ED has conducted searches at the office and residential premises of Novus Path Labs, DNA Labs, Max Corporate Services, Dr. Lal Chandani Labs ; and Nalwa Labs at Dehradun, Haridwar, Delhi, Noida and Hisar in connection with fake Covid testing scam during Kumbh Mela at Haridwa.
— ED (@dir_ed) August 6, 2021
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
