Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal in ED custody till Sept 11; were arrested yesterday

Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal has been sent to ED custody till September 11 by the court in the bank fraud case. They will now remain in ED custody for 14 days. Goyal was arrested late Friday night by the ED in a money laundering case related to alleged bank fraud of Rs 538 crore by Canara Bank. After which today 74-year-old Goyal was presented in the special PMLA court in Mumbai on Saturday. Where ED demanded his custody.

This money laundering case against Jet Airways, Naresh Goyal, his wife Anita Goyal and some former officials of the company is related to the alleged fraud of Rs 538 crore with Canara Bank. In this case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered an FIR against the Goyal couple and others on the complaint of Canara Bank. ED had started investigating the case on the basis of CBI FIR. The CBI has accused Goyal, his wife Anita and some former officials of the company in the bank fraud case.

The bank had complained to the CBI that it had given a loan of Rs 848.86 crore to Jet Airways Limited (JAL), of which Rs 538.62 crore is still outstanding. This account was declared fraud on July 29, 2021.

The bank alleged that the forensic audit of the company revealed that Goyal paid Rs 1,410.41 crore as commission to his other companies and diverted Jet's money. Affiliates were also paid through loans and other investments.

The CBI alleges that personal expenses such as salaries, phone bills and conveyance expenses of the employees of the Goyal family were paid by the company. Further, the forensic audit revealed that funds were siphoned off by way of advance payments and investments through Jet Light (India) Limited (JLL) and subsequent provisioning and write-off of the same. According to the CBI, JIL used the money in the form of loans and investments for its subsidiary JLL.

Let me tell you, in July, the ED had raided the premises of former Jet Airways promoter Naresh Goyal and his associates. During this period, Indian and foreign currency has been seized. The ED had said in a statement that it has also seized bank deposits of over Rs one crore. The ED had registered a criminal case against Goyal and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2020 after taking cognizance of a Mumbai Police FIR.