Special PMLA court remands Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal to 14 days ED custody

Seeking custody, the Enforcement Directorate told a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai that Goyal and his family purchased furniture and gold for their personal use with a part of the money given to the company as a loan, reports said.

Naresh Goyal was arrested yesterday over an alleged case of fraud of Rs 538 crore, registered on a complaint filed by Canara Bank.

Canara Bank alleged that it sanctioned credit limits and loans to Jet Airways (India) Ltd (JIL) to the tune of Rs. 848.86 crore, of which Rs. 538.62 crore is outstanding.

A forensic audit of the company revealed that the company diverted the money to related firms as commission in fraudulent transactions.

The central probe agency told a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai that Jet Airways was granted a loan by a consortium of banks to run its operations.

However, Rs 1,152 crore of the borrowed money was spent on consulting fees and Rs 2,500 crore was given as a loan to its sister entity Jet Lite (India) Ltd and then waived the loan.

The probe agency alleged that Goyal and his family used Rs 9.46 crore for their personal expenses, including furniture and jewellery by Goyal and his wife Anita, daughter Namrata Goyal to pay the salaries of her household staff as well as staff at her production house.

ED said that Goyal’s associates run companies outside and the money was diverted to those entities between 2011 and 2019.

The agency told the court Goyal was summoned twice in August for interrogation but he did not appear.

ED told the court that it was tasked to probe the money trail and its whereabouts and sought 14 days of custody of Goyal to question him in the matter.