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    ED for probe against Jet Airways to continue

    Synopsis

    The move comes after Mumbai Police filed a closure report in a cheating and forgery case , saying there was no evident case against Jet Airways or its founder.

    jet--bccl
    Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday filed an intervention plea before a local court here, requesting the judge to continue an ongoing probe against Jet Airways and Naresh Goyal after the city police closed a complaint that had claimed forgery and cheating by the grounded carrier and its founder.

    The application comes after the Mumbai Police filed a closure report in the cheating and forgery case registered against the mothballed airline, saying that there was no evident case against Jet Airways or its founder.

    Sources said that the ED move was prompted as its money laundering case against Goyal and others is based on the predicate offence of cheating and forgery lodged by the Mumbai Police.

    “A probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is based on a predicate offence registered by another law enforcement agency. In this case, the ED's Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was based on Mumbai Police’s case. Since the police closed the case, it will have an adverse effect on the money laundering probe and hence an intervention application has been filed,” said a source privy to the details.

    Other than the ED, the complainant, Akbar Travels India Pvt Ltd also plans to file a protest petition on July 6 when the matter will be heard next.

    “There is enough evidence to show that our client was induced to infuse more money by bringing in business in Jet Airways on personal assurances by the director,” said Advocate Dharmesh Joshi, appearing on behalf of Akbar Travels. “There is a strong case of money laundering and the same should be probed thoroughly."Advocates Dharmesh Joshi and Parag Joshi of TD Joshi & Associates are the counsel for the complainant.

    According to the complaint in FY 18-19, Akbar Travels and Jet Airway (India) entered into an agreement in which the former were to sell tickets worth Rs 800- Rs 1,000 crore and on the ticket sale, Akbar Travels would get a commission of up to 3.5% But the airline was soon grounded and Akbar Travels claimed that it incurred a loss of Rs 46 crore.

    Akbar Travels has been listed as a creditor before the NCLT, which is currently hearing the insolvency plea against Jet. Of the Rs 46 crore of claims, only an amount of Rs 14.93 crore is under verification, while the remaining claim has been rejected.

    In its closure report reviewed by ET, the police said that while Akbar Travels' Public Relation Officer Jeevan Crasta claimed to have met Goyal at different occasions between March 2019 and June 2019 at his south Mumbai residence, the entry register maintained by the housing society doesn’t indicate such visits.

    “While the complainant has raised a claim of Rs 46.05 crore before the NCLT, during the course of the probe, no evidence of cheating or forgery was found,” the report reviewed by ET reads. “No evidence has been found to indicate that the accused had entered into an agreement with the complainant with an intention to defraud him.”

    The report also said that Akbar Travels had failed to tell the police that it had already moved the NCLT to claim the defrauded amount.


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