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Informist, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024

 

NEW DELHI – The Bombay High Court on Monday granted permanent medical bail to Jet Airways (India) Ltd.'s founder and former chairman Naresh Goyal in a money-laundering case arising from an alleged INR 5.39 billion loan fraud at Canara Bank. In May, a single-judge bench of the court had granted Goyal interim medical bail for two months, which was extended from time to time.

 

Goyal, aged 75, is suffering from cancer and had sought bail to undergo treatment. Contesting his plea, the Enforcement Directorate had said he could be admitted to a hospital of his choice and undergo treatment while in custody. The enforcement agency had arrested Goyal in September 2023 and filed a charge sheet against him thereafter.

 

The agency's probe is based on a first information report lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which started a probe on the basis of a written complaint submitted by Canara Bank, Mumbai, alleging offences of cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and criminal misconduct committed by Jet Airways, its promoter, and directors, resulting in a non-performing asset of 5.39 bln rupees.

 

According to the bank's complaint, when companies promoted by Goyal started defaulting on the repayment of loans availed from a banking consortium of which Canara Bank was a part, the bank carried out a forensic audit on loans issued between 2011 and 2019 and discovered that funds had been siphoned off. The bank informed the authorities of its findings in 2021.

 

The enforcement agency said its investigation had revealed that Jet Airways siphoned off money from loans from a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank. "Naresh Goyal implemented a massive financial fraud in which the funds of Jet Airways were systematically diverted in the garb of irrational and inflated general sales agent commissions, large unexplained payouts to various professionals and consultants, by granting of loans to JetLite Ltd (a 100% subsidiary set up to acquire Air Sahara), and subsequently writing off the loans by making provisions in the balance sheets," it said.

 

On Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered liquidation of the debt-ridden airline after the consortium of the UK's Kalrock Capital and United Arab Emirates-based entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan failed to implement the resolution plan that had been approved by the committee of creditors and the National Company Law Tribunal.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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