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Informist, Friday, Sep 6, 2024

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court today granted bail to Neeraj Singal, former promoter of Bhushan Steel Ltd, in a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate. The probe agency had said Singal was involved in one of the biggest banking frauds as well as money laundering, and had caused losses to the public to the tune of more than 460 bln rupees.

 

"The appeal (by Singal) is allowed. Appellant (Singal) is directed to be released on terms and conditions to be fixed by trial court. In addition, appellant will also comply with conditions of Section 438(2) of Code of Criminal Procedure," the court said. Singal has to surrender his passport and cannot leave India without the permission of the court. In case of a violation, it will be open for the prosecution to seek recall of the bail order, the court said.

 

The bail to Singal was given considering the period of incarceration he had suffered, and that the trial had not effectively commenced, the court said. Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Singal, argued that the petitioner was in jail for 16 months and the maximum punishment in his case was three years. "One would expect trials to be completed in two-three years in such cases. It's already 16 months. There is a lapse in compliance with statutory provisions," the court said.

 

In 2018, Tata Steel Ltd had acquired Bhushan Steel Ltd following the corporate insolvency resolution process of the latter. Before it was taken over by Tata Steel, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs had ordered an investigation into the affairs of Bhushan Steel by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office, which registered a complaint against them.

 

Thereafter, the Enforcement Director registered an Enforcement Case Information Report against Bhushan Steel. The Enforcement Directorate said that Singal, in connivance with other accused persons, knowingly resorted to illegitimate acquisition of loan funds in the name of Bhushan Steel and other group companies and indulged in laundering of proceeds of crime through a complex web of more than 150 companies.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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