File picture of Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Bombay High Court on Friday has given extension by four weeks to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal in a temporary bail that was granted to him in May.

Mr. Goyal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on September 1, 2023 in a money-laundering case. The ED charges alleged that Mr. Goyal had laundered money and siphoned off loans worth ₹538.62 crore given to Jet Airways by Canara Bank.

Mr. Goyal’s bail extension affidavit plea before the single bench judge, Justice N.J. Jamadar stated that his doctor has advised him for urgent Laparoscopic Fundoplication surgery within four weeks after confirming his surgical fitness.

Representing Mr. Goyal, advocates Aabad Ponda and Ameet Naik said that he has filed the bail application on merits and medical grounds as he is battling life-threatening conditions and has recently lost his wife. His health condition, they said, and the loss of his wife has affected him mentally, emotionally and physically that he is experiencing severe depression and suicidal thoughts.

The advocates also contended that the allegations against Mr. Goyal are false and that a narrative was set against him with the intention of maligning his and Jet Airways’ reputation.

The High Court on July 3, directed Mr. Goyal to file a detailed affidavit explaining his medical condition, the treatments and surgeries he is asked to undergo, along with the duration. 

Advocate Ponda said, “My client (Mr. Goyal) feels that the same things will happen to him as his wife. He is suffering from anxiety and needs medical assistance to sleep. If a person had 24 cylinders in life, he is on his last cylinder. Doctors have advised him to remain at his comfortable home with his family for at least another six months to cope with his cancer surgery.”

Representing the ED, advocated Hiten Venegaonkar and Aayush Kedia argued on the authencity of medical certificates and said, “The ED has no issue with extending the relief for another three weeks. But the way medical certificates are given these days is known by everyone. We insist, let him be checked by doctors from Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital.” To this, Mr. Ponda refused stating that his client fears Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital because of his history seeing his wife’s condition there. Anita Goyal passed away on May 16 at the age of 70 after a battle with cancer.  

Hearing the arguments, the court directed Mr. Goyal’s advocates to submit an affidavit adding that extension on interim bail cannot be going an indefinite timeline.  

On May 6, the High Court granted interim bail for two months to Mr. Goyal in a money laundering case filed by the ED. Justice Jamadar who pronounced the judgement, said that Mr. Goyal will be released upon payment of ₹1 lakh with sureties as per the court orders. He was asked to surrender his passport and was directed to stay within the jurisdiction of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai.

Earlier, he was denied permanent bail on medical grounds by a special PMLA court on April 10, 2024, that led him to approach the high court.  

Those in distress or having suicidal tendencies could seek help and counselling by calling the numbers provided in this link.

Mumbai:

Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal’s wife Anita Goyal passed away on Thursday morning after suffering from the final stage of cancer.

Anita Goyal is survived by her husband and two children, Namrata and Nivaan Goyal.

According to reports, she passed away around 3 a.m. and Naresh Goyal was at their Mumbai residence.

As executive vice president, Anita was part of operations at the company.

Naresh Goyal, himself suffering from multiple health issues, sought interim bail from the Bombay High Court earlier this month on humanitarian grounds to be with his wife.

He was nabbed on September 1, 2023, in connection with a money-laundering case.

He is currently in judicial custody and lodged at the Arthur Road Central Jail (ARCJ).

In the bail plea, Naresh Goyal had claimed that he did not siphon off loan amounts for personal benefits, as alleged by the ED in the Canara Bank loan of Rs 538.62 crore given to the Jet Airways group.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

File picture of Bombay High Court
| Photo Credit: VIVEK BENDRE

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday opposed interim medical bail sought by Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal in a money laundering case. ED officials told the Bombay High Court that there is no medical report to show that 75-year-old Mr. Goyal is fit to be discharged from a private hospital, instead, his stay at a private hospital could be extended for a month.

The single judge bench of Justice N.J. Jamadar has reserved its order and said Mr. Goyal should not be discharged until May 6 from the private hospital where he is currently admitted and undergoing treatment. The court will pronounce its order on May 6.

In the hearing on Friday, Mr. Goyal’s lawyers, Harish Salve, Aabad Ponda and Ameet Naik informed the high court that Mr. Goyal has lost the will to live and that he and his wife, Anita Goyal are suffering from terminal cancer.

Terminal cancer

Mr. Goyal’s plea for interim bail is purely on medical and humanitarian grounds, lawyers representing Mr. Goyal said. Since his wife is in the last stages of terminal cancer, and has only a few months to live, Mr. Goyal should be allowed to be with his wife on humanitarian grounds as it will provide emotional support at such a distressing time, said Mr. Salve.

“We have seen the world enough to know what the mental state of someone whose wife is dying would be. The man has lost the will to live. He is not a youngster. While Section 45 of the PMLA Act is as strict as it can be, the provision is what makes it humane. To keep the applicant in incarceration and limiting his bail to stays in hospital where he cannot be with his wife, is a gross violation of basic human rights. Even prisoners of war are not accorded treatment that is so degrading and inhuman,” argued Mr. Salve for Mr. Goyal.

The plea also urged the court to consider his medical condition. “Consider the mental condition of a person who has been diagnosed with cancer. The wife has months to go. His wife, who has been given few months to live, can afford to have medical help but there is something called, ‘emotional support’. He is unable to decide about undertaking his own surgery at this age. Let him be with his wife for 1–3 months, whatever time God gives her,” Mr. Salve urged the court to grant interim bail under Article 21 of the constitution on humanitarian grounds.

In safe hands

Representing the ED, advocate Hiten Venegaonkar argued that Mr. Goyal is in safe hands and is receiving the best medical care from doctors of his choice. “If he is terminally ill and requires medical attention, his health should be the priority. No medical opinion suggests he is fit to be discharged. Even the trial court had expressed that his health would worsen if he was granted bail, exposing him to infections. His wife is taking treatment in the same hospital. There is no restriction on meeting her.”

Mr. Goyal was arrested in September 2023 in a money laundering case and his wife was arrested in November 2023. According to the ED charges, he laundered money and siphoned off loans to the tune of ₹538.62 crore given to Jet Airways by Canara Bank. His wife was granted bail by a special court on the day of arrest considering her age and declining health whereas, Mr. Goyal approached the Bombay High Court after his plea for bail in the special court was denied.

New Delhi:

Properties worth over Rs 500 crore have been seized by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged money laundering case linked to Jet Airways (India) Ltd.

The properties include 17 residential flats, bungalows, and commercial buildings registered under the names of companies and people, including Jet Airways’ founder Naresh Goyal, wife Anita Goyal and son Nivaan Goyal in London, Dubai, and some states in India.

The central probe agency attached the properties worth at least Rs 538 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, or PMLA, 2002.

Apart from the Goyals, some properties are registered under the names of Jetair Pvt Ltd, and Jet Enterprises Pvt Ltd.

The ED yesterday filed a chargesheet against Mr Goyal and five others in the alleged fraud case filed by Canara Bank.

The bank in the first information report (FIR) alleged it had sanctioned credit limits and loans to the now-grounded private airline up to Rs 848 crore, of which Rs 538 crore was outstanding.

Mr Goyal was arrested by the ED on September 1 under the PMLA and is being kept in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail.

The ED alleged the Jet Airways founder siphoned off money by creating trusts in other countries. Mr Goyal allegedly used those trusts to buy immovable properties. The money for those trusts is nothing but proceeds of crime, the ED said.

Citing an audit report, the ED said the loans taken by Jet Airways were used to buy furniture, apparel, and jewellery, apart from properties.

During a court hearing on September 12, the businessman who once operated one of India’s biggest private airlines, said the aviation sector runs on bank loans and all the funds cannot be termed as money laundering.

Mr Goyal, represented by lawyers Abbad Ponda, Amit Desai and Amit Naik, told the court he did not take any loan on his or family’s name or stood as a guarantor for them. The lawyers said a significant amount of bank loans taken by Jet Airways before 2011 were used to buy Sahara Airlines.

“This is a historical event in business. Not just Jet Airways, other airlines, too, are in a crisis. The aviation sector runs on the basis of funding from banks; all these cannot be termed as laundering,” Mr Goyal’s lawyer said.

There was a crisis in the economy and that is why he defaulted in making some repayments, the lawyer said.

The court said Mr Goyal’s statements indicated he avoided giving details of all his bank accounts as well as movable and immovable properties in India and abroad.

Mumbai:

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file its affidavit in response to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal’s plea challenging his “illegal” arrest in a money laundering case linked to bank loan default.

Goyal, in his plea, claimed his arrest was illegal as it was done without following provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and also challenged orders of a special court which had sent him to the ED custody first and thereafter to jail under judicial remand.

When the plea was taken up for hearing on Wednesday by the HC, advocate Hiten Venegaonkar, appearing for the central agency, sought time to file their reply affidavit.

Senior counsel Amit Desai, appearing for the 74-year-old businessman, urged the court to grant a short date for hearing and pointed to his client’s advanced age.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Gauri Godse then said it has to give the other side time to respond.

“He (Goyal) can file for bail. That liberty is there… ED may challenge this plea (filed by Goyal in HC) on maintainability itself,” Justice Dere noted.

The bench posted the matter for hearing on October 6 by when the financial crime-fighting agency has to file it affidavit.

Goyal is currently in judicial custody and lodged at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai after arrest in the money laundering case linked to an alleged fraud of Rs 538 crore at Canara Bank.

The septuagenarian businessman, who once operated India’s top private airline, was arrested by the ED on September 1 and produced before a special court which remanded him to custody of the central agency till September 14.

On September 14, he was remanded to judicial custody for two weeks.

Goyal, in the plea, said his arrest was arbitrary, unwarranted and done without the ED following proper procedure. He sought to be released immediately.

The money laundering case stems from an FIR of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Jet Airways, Goyal, his wife Anita and some former company executives of the now grounded airline in connection with the alleged Rs 538-crore fraud at Canara Bank, a government lender.

The FIR was registered on the bank’s complaint which alleged that it sanctioned credit limits and loans to Jet Airways (India) Ltd to the tune of Rs 848.86 crore of which Rs 538.62 crore was outstanding.

Mumbai:

A special court in Mumbai on Monday extended till September 14 the ED remand of Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, who has been arrested in a money laundering case linked to an alleged fraud of Rs 538 crore at Canara Bank.

Naresh Goyal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on September 1 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following a long session of questioning at the central agency’s office in Mumbai.

The 74-year-old businessman was produced before the special PMLA court at the end of his initial remand on Monday.

The central probe agency sought his custody for another four day for further investigation in the case.

The ED told the court that maximum money siphoned off has been stacked in foreign accounts and there is a person in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to look after it.

Special judge for cases under PMLA, MG Deshpande, then extended Goyal’s custody till September 14.

The money laundering case stems from an FIR of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Jet Airways, Goyal, his wife Anita and some former executives of the now grounded private airline in connection with an alleged Rs 538-crore fraud case at Canara Bank.

The FIR was registered on the government-run lender’s complaint which alleged that it sanctioned credit limits and loans to Jet Airways (India) Ltd to the tune of Rs 848.86 crore of which Rs 538.62 crore was outstanding.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday night in an alleged Rs 538-crore money laundering case linked to loans and credit lines given to the airline by Canara Bank. 

Mr Goyal was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and is expected to be produced before a special PMLA court in Mumbai on Saturday.

The Basis Of The Case

The money laundering case is based on a first information report (FIR) against Jet Airways, Mr Goyal, his wife Anita and some former company executives, which was registered by the CBI on May 3. The FIR was filed after Canara Bank alleged a Rs 538-crore fraud. 

The bank had approached the agency and said that it had sanctioned credit limits and loans to Jet Airways (India) Ltd (JIL) amounting to Rs 848.86 crore, of which Rs 538.62 crore has not been repaid. 

Irregularities

The CBI had said the account was declared “fraud” in July 2021. It has accused Jet Airways and its founders of siphoning funds. According to the agency, between April 1, 2011, and June 30, 2019, the airline was found to have spent Rs 1,152.62 crore on professional and consultancy expenses. 

Suspicious transactions to the tune of Rs 197.57 crore were identified among entities linked to the airline, with key managerial personnel also allegedly being connected to these entities.

The investigation found that Jet Airways paid Rs 420.43 crore of the total Rs 1,152.62 crore in professional and consultancy expenses to entities whose business nature did not match the service descriptions on their invoices.

Even personal expenses, such as salaries of staff, phone bills and vehicle expenses, among others, of the Goyal family were paid by JIL, said the FIR. 

Questioning And Raids

Mr Goyal was taken into custody on Friday following a long session of questioning at the ED’s office in Mumbai. 

On May 5, premises of the Jet Airways founder and old offices of the airline were raided by the CBI in connection with the Canara Bank Fraud.

The ED had also searched eight locations linked to Mr Goyal and his associates in July. 

Insolvency

Jet Airways, once India’s largest private carrier, suspended operations in April 2019 because of a severe cash crunch and mounting debt. 

The airline was acquired by a partnership between UAE-based businessman Murari Lal Jalan and London-based Kalrock Capital in June 2021, after a protracted insolvency process.

New Delhi:

Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged Rs 538 crore money laundering case linked to Canara Bank, sources said.

Mr Goyal was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), following a long session of questioning at the ED’s office in Mumbai.

Mr Goyal, 74, will be produced before a special PMLA court in Mumbai on Saturday, where the ED will seek his custodial remand.

The money laundering case stems from a first information report (FIR) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Jet Airways, Mr Goyal, his wife Anita and some former company executives in connection with an alleged Rs 538 crore fraud case at Canara Bank.

The FIR was filed on the bank’s complaint that alleged it sanctioned credit limits and loans to Jet Airways (India) Ltd (JIL) to the tune of Rs 848.86 crore, of which Rs 538.62 crore is outstanding.

The CBI had said the account was declared “fraud” in July 2021. The bank alleged the forensic audit of JIL showed it paid “related companies” Rs 1,410.41 crore out of a total commission expenses, thus siphoning off funds from JIL.

The FIR said personal expenses such as salaries of staff, phone bills and vehicle expenses, among others, of the Goyal family were paid by JIL.

It surfaced during the forensic audit that funds were also siphoned off through Jet Lite (India) Ltd (JLL) by making advance and investing and subsequently writing off the same by making provisions.

JIL allegedly diverted the funds for the subsidiary JLL in the form of loans and advances and investments extended.