New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Friday searched seven different locations in Mumbai, including the office of Jet Airways and the premises of its founder Naresh Goyal, in connection with a Rs 538 crore alleged bank fraud case.
Goyal, his wife Anita Goyal, former Jet director Gaurang Ananda Shetty and other unknown public servants are among those named as accused in the case.
“Searches have been conducted in seven locations in Mumbai. This is in connection to the investigation into the bank fraud case,” a source in the CBI told ThePrint.
According to the FIR registered Wednesday, a copy of which is with ThePrint, the complaint was filed by P. Santosh, Chief General Manager, Canara Bank, accusing Goyal and the others of alleged cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and criminal misconduct leading to an alleged loss of Rs 538.62 crore to Canara Bank.
Jet Airways had suspended operations in April 2019 due to a massive cash crunch and debt. In June 2021, a consortium led by UAE-based businessman Murari Lal Jalan and London-based Kalrock Capital took over the airline’s ownership after a long-drawn insolvency resolution process at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
The CBI, in its FIR, accused the airline and the others of siphoning funds and diversion which were allegedly revealed during a forensic audit.
As per the investigating agency, between 1 April 2011 and 30 June 2019, the airline was found to have spent Rs 1,152.62 crore on professional and consultancy expenses. “Out of these expenses, suspicious transactions to the tune of Rs 197.57 crore were identified,”
the FIR reads.
The transactions were allegedly linked to entities that had associations with managerial personnel of Jet Airways.
“It is observed that professional and consultancy expenses to the extent of Rs 420.43 crore out of Rs 1,152.62 crore are paid to entities whose nature of business is different from the service description in their invoices… It is also observed that these entities were having turn-over similar to the expense amount being recorded by JIL against those entities under the garb of professional and consultancy expenses,” the FIR further said.
The agency has accused the airline and the others of “misappropriation and siphoning of funds” taken from banks to utilise for purposes unrelated to the operations of the borrower, and to the “detriment of the financial health of the entity and the lender”.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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