The Bombay High Court has dismissed a plea by Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal to quash his arrest and remand orders in a ₹538 crore money laundering case. The case is based on a forensic audit by Ernst & Young LLP, alleging Goyal siphoned off ₹1410.41 crores from Jet Airways (India) Ltd (JIL) to related parties. Goyal defended these transactions as valid commissions and reimbursements to General Sales Agents (GSA). He also refuted allegations of diverting funds to Jet Lite (India) Ltd (JLL), arguing these were loans to support JLL's operations, conducted transparently and according to accounting standards.
Goyal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over alleged ₹538 crore fraud at Canara Bank, an action he deemed "unwarranted, arbitrary and illegal". His legal team argued that Goyal's constitutional rights under Articles 14, 21, and 22 were violated as he wasn't provided the Grounds of Arrest in writing. Goyal contested ED's jurisdiction citing a stay order on Canara Bank's fraudulent declaration concerning his and JIL's accounts.
The Bombay High Court maintained that all legal procedures were followed during Goyal's arrest. The ED described Goyal as "highly uncooperative, recalcitrant, evasive and suspicious" in its Enforcement Case Information Report based on a Central Bureau of Investigation FIR, characterizing him as a "very influential, intelligent and resourceful person" who committed the crime with "full pre-meditation". On November 1, the ED provisionally attached properties worth ₹538.05 crore and identified public funds worth ₹5,716.34 crore (INR100 crore = approx. USD12 million) as proceeds of crime in its chargesheet. The agency also suggested that Goyal could tamper with evidence, which would adversely affect the investigation.
Goyal demanded release from what he termed "unlawful custody" and cancellation of his arrest memo, order, and September remand applications and orders. However, Justice Revati Mohite Dere suggested other legal remedies. Goyal defended his family members' salaries as legitimate Jet Airways employee compensation. Despite Goyal's assertion that his September 1 arrest was unlawful, the court upheld the arrest and remand orders.
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