DPR is being prepared to revive HMT factory, says Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy
Mandya (PTI): Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, H D Kumaraswamy, on Thursday announced that a Detailed Project Report (DPR) is being prepared to revive the prestigious HMT factory.
He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, efforts are underway to rejuvenate both HMT and the Sir M Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant (VISL) in Bhadravathi.
"Several rounds of discussions have already taken place in this regard," Kumaraswamy told reporters here.
"Dr V K Saraswat, a member of NITI Aayog, has submitted an important report on the revival of HMT. High-level meetings have been held in New Delhi with senior officials of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, the Managing Director of HMT, and Dr. Saraswat," he said.
Kumaraswamy further informed that a team led by the Additional Secretary of MHI & HMT Managing Director were also sent to Japan to explore possibilities of technical collaboration.
Noting that the people of Mandya have long aspired for industrial establishments in the district, the union minister, who is MP from district said, "I have sought cooperation from the state government and have also held discussions with several industrialists in Delhi regarding setting up industries in Mandya."
Kumaraswamy said that with the responsibility of two key portfolios, he is making every effort to boost industrial growth in Karnataka, and urged the Congress government in the state to build a strong working relationship with the Centre.
"The state government should build a strong working relationship with the Centre. Only then can the state fully benefit from central initiatives. Bringing politics into every matter is unnecessary," he added.
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Rs 640 crore cyber fraud: SC refuses anticipatory bail to CA in ED case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to grant anticipatory bail to a chartered accountant in a money laundering investigation linked to a Rs 640 crore cyber fraud case.
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Augustine George Masih upheld the order of the Delhi High Court which had denied pre-arrest bail to Bhaskar Yadav and directed him to surrender in 10 days.
The high court on February 2 dismissed anticipatory bail applications by Yadav and Ashok Kumar Sharma.
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In the 22-page judgement, the high court had said there was an "intricate mesh of laundering of money", and the need expressed by the Enforcement Directorate to interrogate the two accused in custody was not unreasonable.
"The accused/applicants, being skilled professionals, have allegedly crafted laundering of proceeds of crime across multiple layers, and to unearth the same, I find substance in the submission of learned counsel for DoE (Directorate of Enforcement) that custodial interrogation is much required," the HC said.
"It is not a case of mere dealing in cryptocurrency, which per se is not a crime in this country and the liability of the accused persons is confined to paying tax on the crypto transactions. The present cases exhibit a vast intricate mesh of movement of money, fraudulently extracted out of pocket of gullible investors, who appear to be primarily belonging to middle class," it had added.
The high court had stated that individual liberty was sacrosanct, but it could not brush aside the requirement to carry out a meaningful interrogation and investigation in the larger interest of the country's economy.
It had noted there were fresh complaints of the accused allegedly assaulting the investigating officers, bribing the local police to settle cyber fraud complaints and destroying electronic evidence.
The money laundering probe stems from two FIRs filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police that were registered to probe charges of cyber fraud to the tune of Rs 640 crore generated through betting, gambling, part-time jobs and phishing scams, the ED has earlier said in a statement.
As per the agency, the money of gullible people was siphoned off by layering funds cheated from them through more than 5,000 mule Indian bank accounts and subsequently uploaded on PYYPL, a UAE-based payment platform.
Part of the cyber fraud money was withdrawn in cash in Dubai through debit and credit cards issued by various Indian banks, it said.
According to the probe agency, the alleged scam was being run through a nexus of certain CAs, company secretaries and crypto traders who worked in tandem to launder the proceeds of crime.
