Naresh Goyal, founder and former chairman of defunct carrier Jet Airways (Mumbai International), is again being investigated for alleged money laundering by India’s Directorate of Enforcement, which filed a new case against him as raids on properties associated with him were conducted, local media reported.
The economic intelligence agency made searches at eight locations in Mumbai and Delhi that are linked to the non-resident businessman on July 19 after the agency filed a fresh money laundering case against Goyal, his wife Anita, and the auditor of the airline, according to reports by the Indian news agency Asian News International and the Economic Times.
The raids are part of a case that Bangalore-based public sector bank Canara Bank had filed alleging wrongful loss of INR5.39 billion rupees (USD65.7 million) through the actions of parent company Jet Airways (India) Ltd (JIL). This prompted India’s Central Bureau of Investigation to file a first information report (FIR), triggering the searches, sources told the newspaper.
According to the complaint, JIL had been dealing with the bank since 2005 but by August 2018 it was facing liquidity and operational issues and a State Bank of India-led consortium initiated a resolution for corporate insolvency. The accounts held with Canara Bank became a non-performing asset in June 2019. A forensic audit subsequently conducted by accounting firm EY revealed that JIL had paid billions of rupees to related parties in off-contract expenses. Funds were also allegedly siphoned off through JetLite, a subsidiary.
In February, Mumbai’s High Court dismissed a money laundering case against Goyal and his wife, halting any investigative actions the Directorate of Enforcement could take against the couple. It observed, however, that if a law enforcement agency registered a new case against them, the agency could investigate.
Jet Airways collapsed in April 2019 with around USD1.2 billion in debts after failing to secure emergency capital funding.
