Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, accused of siphoning about Rs 400 crore from the money borrowed from banks, was remanded to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate till September 11 by a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on September 2.
The federal money laundering probing agency had sought 14 days of custodial remand for Goyal who was arrested late last night.
During the hearing in the special PMLA court, the public prosecutor alleged that the loan that Jet Airways took from a consortium of banks was siphoned off and diverted to foreign companies.
The former chairman Jet Airways was arrested late Friday night by the ED under the PMLA, after a long questioning at the ED’s office.
Incidentally, Goyal's arrest came shortly after right after the Jalan Kalrock consortium paid Rs 100 crore ($120,000), of the total Rs 350 crore it promised to pay to takeover the now-grounded airline.
The alleged siphoning and diverting the money to foreign companies reportedly took place between 2011 and 2019. The public prosecutor also alleged that Goyal spent Rs 9.46 crore as his personal expenses.
The prosecutor claimed that the airline took loans for operational functions, however, it paid Rs 1,152 crore as the consultancy fees. He also stated that Rs 2,500 crore were transferred to sister company Jet Lite (India) Ltd (JLL).
According to the public prosecutor, further investigation needs to be done to find out where the money was diverted.
Jet Airways grounded its operations in April, 2019, following a cash crunch. Seventy-four-year-old Goyal later stepped down as the chairperson of the airline.
The money laundering case was initiated by an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Jet Airways, Goyal, his wife Anita and a few former company executives in connection with the alleged Rs 538 crore fraud case at the Canara Bank.
The raids were carried out by ED in July at premises linked to Naresh Goyal and others who were allegedly involved in the case.
(Edited by : Kanishka Sarkar)
First Published: Sept 2, 2023 4:37 PM IST
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