A Mumbai court on Thursday sent Jet Airways Founder Naresh Goyal for a 14-day judicial custody in connection with the money laundering case, reported PTI. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Goyal on September 1 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following an extensive interrogation at its office in Mumbai. Initially, the ED custody was scheduled to last until September 14. However, at the end of his ED remand on Thursday, the 74-year-old businessman was presented before the court.
The money laundering case revolves around an alleged fraud of Rs 538 crore concerning Canara Bank. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiated an FIR against Jet Airways, Naresh Goyal, his wife Anita, and several former company executives based on a complaint filed by Canara Bank.
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The complaint alleged that Canara Bank had sanctioned credit limits and loans totaling Rs 848.86 crore to Jet Airways (India) Ltd, with an outstanding amount of Rs 538.62 crore. This led to the CBI categorising the account as fraudulent on July 29, 2021.
According to the reports, The bank in its complaint said that a forensic audit of Jet Airways (India) Ltd (JIL) revealed that Rs 1,410.41 crore had been disbursed to “related companies” as part of commission expenses, effectively diverting funds from JIL. The complaint, now part of the CBI FIR, argued that JIL had covered General Selling Agents’ (GSA) expenses amounting to Rs 403.27 crore, despite the GSA agreement stipulating that these costs should be borne by GSA, not JIL.
Additionally, it was alleged that Jet Airways had covered personal expenses of the Goyal family, including staff salaries, phone bills, and vehicle expenses. Jet Airways ceased operations in April 2019 due to a financial crisis, resulting in the resignation of its chairman, Naresh Goyal.