Naresh Goyal sent to ED custody till Sep 11 in money-laundering case

A special PMLA court here on Saturday remanded Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till September 11 in connection with a case of bank fraud of Rs 538 crore and money-laundering.

Arrested after hours of interrogation late on Friday night, Goyal is accused of allegedly diverting around Rs 9.50 crore from a public sector bank (Canara Bank) loan to clear off his private loans and commissions.

Goyal (74) was produced before a special PMLA court on Saturday afternoon, where the ED said that his daughter Namrata Goyal’s production house also got money from Jet Airways accounts to pay salaries and other commitments.

On Friday, the ED swooped had on Goyal, picked him up for questioning and late in the night placed him under arrest for alleged money-laundering linked to a Canara Bank loan fraud case of Rs 538 crore between 2011 and 2019.

The money-laundering case arose from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR filed against Goyal, his wife Anita, and others in connection with the alleged fraud perpetrated with Canara Bank.

In May, the Canara Bank had complained that it had given loans and credit limits to Goyal’s Jet Airways worth Rs 849 crore, of which over Rs 538 crore was outstanding, and then declared a fraud in July 2021.

The investigations also revealed that private and personal expenses of the Goyal family and staff salaries were paid through the airline accounts, and funds were siphoned off through Jet Lite by Jet Airways Ltd through loans, advances and investments.

The ED plans to quiz Goyal on his companies abroad where the siphoned funds were allegedly transferred and parked, besides getting details of his other assets and investments at foreign locations.

It may be recalled that the once-powerful Jet Airways, which virtually ruled the skies for nearly 25 years, was finally grounded in April 2019 owing to financial problems and heavy losses.