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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recovered 268 bitcoins coins worth ₹138 crore from a Haldwani resident whose premises were raided last week on the instance of US authorities investigating his alleged involvement in an international drug trafficking group.ET arrested Parvinder Singh last week after it raided his residence in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. ET had reported on April 27 that in a rare instance, ED, while teaming up with the US authorities, carried out a search in Haldwani to assist the US sleuths unravel Singh's involvement in an international drug racket.After Singh's arrest, Parvinder was remanded to ED's custody till May 4. His interrogation led to the recovery of 268 bitcoins worth ₹138 crore, said a senior official on the condition of anonymity.ED's probe has revealed that Parvinder and co-accused used vendor marketing sites on the dark web and a network of narcotics and controlled substance distributors and distribution cells to sell drugs in the USA, the UK and other European countries.The accused then laundered proceeds through crypto currency transactions. People in the know told ET that Parvinder and co-accused received bitcoins which are nothing but proceeds of crime used for illegal sale of drugs in various countries. As per available information, the US authorities have already seized bitcoins valued at thousands of crores of rupees.The US authorities had been conducting an investigation into the alleged involvement of Parvinder Singh and Banmeet Singh, both hailing from Haldwani. The investigation focuses on their alleged involvement in operating an international drug trafficking group, known as 'The Singh Organisation', said people in the know.ET had reported on April 27 that "this group utilised vendor marketing sites on the dark web, along with numerous free advertisements on clear web, to facilitate the sale of drugs. Additionally, they established a network of narcotics and controlled-substance distributors and distribution cells. Their transactions predominantly involved receiving payment in the form of cryptocurrency in exchange for drugs, which were then laundered through cryptocurrency wallets".The investigation carried out by the US authorities revealed that both Banmeet and Parvinder used common monikers on a variety of dark web markets such as 'SILK ROAD 1, AlphaBay, and Hansa'.The US probe, which involved tracing withdrawals from dark web markets by the Singh Organisation and examining email correspondences with their customers, further revealed that the organisation received around 8,488 bitcoins using these monikers.

Canadian police on Friday arrested three Indian nationals believed by investigators to be members of an alleged hit squad tasked by the government of India with the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey last year, police said.Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Assistant Commissioner David Teboul said that three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of Sikh activist Nijjar.Addressing a press conference on Friday, he said that in addition to the murder case, separate investigations are looking into possible connections to the Government of India, The Toronto Star newspaper reported.Teboul stressed that the murder remains "very much under active investigation," CTV News reported."There are separate and distinct investigations ongoing into these matters, certainly not limited to the involvement of the people arrested today, and these efforts include investigating connections to the government of India," he was quoted as saying by the news channel. The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in September last year of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar.India has dismissed Trudeau's charges as "absurd" and "motivated."During the press conference, Superintendent Mandeep Mooker, who leads the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, said that the suspects "were not known to the police" before the investigation into Nijjar's death.Mooker identified the suspects as Karan Brar, Karanpreet Singh and Kamalpreet Singh, all men in their 20s, who were arrested on Friday in Edmonton.Mooker said all three are Indian nationals and have been living as non-permanent residents in Canada for the last three to five years.He also said coordination with India has been "challenging and rather difficult for the last several years".Mooker said that his investigation has relied on the Sikh community's support."We would not be at this point without the bravery and courage of the Sikh community coming forward with information for this investigation," he said, adding that he believes they will continue to come forward for any future investigations, according to the report.Court documents show Karanpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh and Karan Brar are each facing one count of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to murder in Nijjar's death.Nijjar, 45, was gunned down outside his gurdwara in Surrey, B.C., on June 18, 2023. He was a Canadian citizen.A report in Global News citing sources said that the suspects had entered Canada on "student visas but may have been working at the direction of Indian intelligence when they shot Nijjar."According to court records, Brar has been charged with a murder that occurred in Surrey on June 18, 2023. He also faces a charge of conspiracy to murder on May 1, 2023, in Edmonton and Surrey, the report said.Talking to reporters, Canada's Public Safety Minister Dominic Leblanc declined to confirm the Indian government connection, saying such questions are best addressed by the RCMP."I have full confidence in the security apparatus of the government of Canada and the work of the RCMP, and the work that the (Canadian) Security Intelligence Service does," Leblanc said."I think the police operation that you see ongoing today confirms that the RCMP take these matters extremely seriously. But questions with respect to particular links or non-links are properly put to the RCMP," he added.The indictments Friday allege the conspiracy unfolded in both Surrey and Edmonton between May 1, 2023, and the date of Nijjar's killing.Quoting sources close to the investigation, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported that the police are actively investigating possible links to three additional murders in Canada, including the shooting death of an 11-year-old boy in Edmonton.Members of the hit squad are alleged to have played different roles as shooters, drivers and spotters on the day Nijjar was killed at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey in British Columbia, according to the sources.Sources said investigators identified the alleged hit squad members in Canada some months ago and have been keeping them under tight surveillance.India had on Thursday rejected fresh comments by Prime Minister Trudeau on the killing of Nijjar and said the remarks once again illustrated the political space given in Canada to separatism, extremism, and violence.Trudeau addressed a Khalsa Day event in Toronto on Sunday that was attended by some pro-Khalistan supporters.On the sidelines of the event, he told the media that the killing of Nijjar in British Columbia in June last year created a "problem" and that he cannot ignore it, in an apparent reference to his earlier allegations of involvement of Indian agents in the assassination."PM Trudeau has made such remarks earlier as well. His remarks illustrate once again the political space that has been given in Canada to separatism, extremism, and violence," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in New Delhi at his weekly media briefing."This not only impacts India-Canada relations but also encourages a climate of violence and criminality in Canada to the detriment of its own citizens," he said when asked about Trudeau's remarks.India on Monday also summoned the Canadian deputy high commissioner and lodged a strong protest with him over the raising of pro-Khalistan slogans at the event in the presence of Trudeau and several other leaders. Nijjar was a Khalistani separatist and he was wanted in India on various terror charges."It is a problem in our relations with India because we cannot ignore that," Trudeau said on the killing of Nijjar.Days after Trudeau's allegations, India asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country to ensure parity. Subsequently, Canada withdrew 41 diplomats and their family members from India.India has been asserting that its "core issue" with Canada remained that of the space given to separatists, terrorists and anti-India elements in that country.Following Trudeau's allegations last year, India temporarily suspended the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens. The visa services were resumed several weeks later.(With PTI inputs)

Mumbai: In a move that will ease the prevailing tight liquidity conditions in the banking system, the Reserve Bank of India on Friday said the Centre plans to buy back Rs 40,000 crore worth of government securities on May 9, the first such repurchase since 2018.The unexpected move is also seen bringing down yields on short-term government bonds, as the three securities that the government has chosen to buy back are all maturing within six to nine months. A fall in government bond yields brings down cost of borrowing for companies as pricing of corporate bonds is benchmarked to sovereign debt. A bulk of corporate borrowing is through short-term papers.The bonds that the government has announced for buyback are the following – the 6.18%, 2024 paper, the 9.15%, 2024 paper and the 6.89%, 2025 paper.“The offers for the auction should be submitted in electronic format on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber) system on May 09, 2024 (Thursday) between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. The result of the auction will be announced on the same day and settlement will take place on May 10, 2024 (Friday),” the RBI said.A buyback of securities essentially means that the government is choosing to repay a portion of outstanding debt before the dates of actual maturity of its bonds. Given that banks are among the largest holders of government bonds, such buybacks release liquidity into the banking system.As on May 2, liquidity in the banking system, as measured by banks’ borrowing from the RBI, was at a deficit of Rs 78,481.39 crore, latest central bank data showed.In its role as the government’s debt manager, the RBI advises the Centre on steps such as buybacks and switches of government securities. Dealers said that the surprise step displayed the RBI’s commitment towards preventing sharp swings in banking system liquidity, which could affect cost of borrowing across the economy.Dealers said while government spending had picked up from February to April, the pace of expenditure would likely be muted before the election results in June, thereby necessitating steps from the RBI to prevent banking system liquidity from dipping into large deficits.

The board of leading exchange NSE on Friday approved a bonus issue in the proportion of 4-to-1 through the capitalisation of reserves. Under the proposed bonus issue, investors of the unlisted company will get four shares for every share they hold as on the record date.The proposed bonus issue needs to be approved by the shareholders and regulator Sebi.A company issues bonus shares for their shareholders in order to increase the liquidity of the stock as well as to decrease its stock price thereby making it affordable for investors.Bonus shares are fully paid additional shares issued by a company to its existing shareholders. When a firm issues bonus shares, its shareholders do not have to incur any extra costs to get them. The number of bonus shares you receive depends on the number of shares of the firm you already hold.All shareholders who own company shares before the record date, which is determined by the firm, are eligible for additional shares.The bonus shares once allotted will rank pari‐passu in all respects and carry the same rights as the existing equity shares. These will be entitled to participate in full in any dividend and other corporate actions recommended.Further, the board has also recommended a final dividend of Rs 90 per share, which is 9,000% on the face value of each share for the financial year ended March 2024.The final dividend, if approved, by the shareholders at the ensuing AGM, will be paid to the eligible shareholders within 30 days from the AGM.One of the world’s largest exchanges, NSE, is considered as a catalyst for driving India’s economic growth.NSE was the first exchange in India to implement electronic or screen-based trading, which began its operations in 1994 — a pioneer in technology which ensures the reliability and performance of its systems through a culture of innovation and investment in technology. NSE operates a market ecosystem to bring in transparency & efficiency.