The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday provisionally attached properties worth Rs 538.05 crore in connection with an alleged money-laundering case linked to airline Jet Airways.
The case is based on a May 3 first information report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation against Jet Airways, its founder Naresh Goyal, his wife Anita Goyal as well as some former company executives following a complaint from Canara Bank.
The lender said that it had sanctioned credit limits and loans to Jet Airways worth Rs 848.86 crore, of which Rs 538.62 crore was outstanding. The funds, Canara Bank alleged, were diverted for purposes unrelated to the airline’s operations.
On Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate attached 17 residential and commercial premises registered in the name of various companies and individuals, including Jetair Private Limited, Jet Enterprises Private Limited, Naresh and Anita Goyal and their son Nivaan Goyal.
The properties are located in London, Dubai and different parts of India.
The development comes a day after the central agency submitted its chargesheet against Naresh Goyal and five others. The Jet Airways founder was arrested in connection with the case on September 1.
The case
The Canara bank said that its complaint was based on a forensic audit by an external audit company for the period between 2011-2019. The November 2022 complaint had alleged that the loan amount given for operational work of the airline company was used for personal expenses.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation, Jet Airways paid Rs 420.43 crore under the guise of professional and consultancy expenses to entities whose business nature did not match the service descriptions on their invoices.
Besides Canara Bank, a consortium of banks had given loans to Jet Airways India Limited for its operation work.
On Wednesday, the central agency said that the company siphoned off the loans from the consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India and the Punjab National Bank.
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