The Enforcement Directorate on Friday approached a court in Delhi to revoke the “approver status” of businessman Rajeev Saxena in a money-laundering case related to the AgustaWestland chopper scam, ANI reported.
The investigative agency alleged that Saxena withheld information, misled its inquiry, and did not make complete disclosures. It claimed that Saxena was in contact with other accused in the case.
The businessman failed to appear before investigators, citing “frivolous reasons”, despite being called around 25 times, the directorate claimed.
The court sought Saxena’s response to the agency’s plea. Special judge Arvind Kumar is likely to pass an order on Saxena’s bail application, and the directorate’s petition on October 21.
Saxena was arrested after being extradited to India from Dubai on January 30. He allegedly played a key role in laundering the money used to pay kickbacks in the scam. According to a supplementary chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate, the bribe money was “layered” and projected as “untainted money” with the help of “fictitious invoices”. The kickbacks were reportedly paid to companies controlled by lawyer Gautam Khaitan using fictitious engineering contracts.
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