New Delhi: The ED custody of Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, arrested in a bank fraud case, extended till September 14 by a Mumbai court, as reported by the PTI.
The central agency had arrested Goyal on September 1 night in a money laundering case linked to an alleged bank fraud of Rs 538 crore at the Canara Bank. As per the news agency, the ED sought 14 days of custody of the Jet Airways founder.
The case is related to an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Jet Airways, Naresh Goyal, his wife Anita, and several former company executives for being involved in an alleged Rs 538-crore fraud at Canara Bank, as per a PTI report.
On Friday, after a long questioning in Mumbai ED arrested Goyal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Goyal was expected to be produced before a special PMLA court in Mumbai on Saturday.
Jet Airways ceased its operations in April 2019 due to a financial crisis, leading to the resignation of its chairman, Naresh Goyal. The CBI filed an FIR based on the Canara bank’s complaint, alleging that it had granted credit limits and loans totalling Rs 848.86 crore to Jet Airways (India) Ltd (JIL), with Rs 538.62 crore remaining unpaid. On July 29, 2021, the CBI categorised the account as fraudulent.
The bank claimed that a forensic audit of JIL revealed that it disbursed Rs 1,410.41 crore to “related companies” as part of commission expenses, essentially diverting funds from JIL, as per the report. The complaint, which is now part of the CBI FIR, contended that JIL had covered General Selling Agents’ (GSA) expenses, amounting to Rs 403.27 crore, even though the GSA agreement stipulated that GSA should bear these costs, not JIL.
Furthermore, JIL allegedly covered the personal expenses of the Goyal family, including staff salaries, phone bills, and vehicle expenses.
