In a big development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), on Friday, September 1, arrested Naresh Goyal, the founder of Jet Airways, in connection with a money laundering case. Sources said IANS that Goyal was arrested at around 10 pm after a marathon interrogation in connection with causing Rs 538 crore loss to Canara Bank. He will be produced before a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai on Saturday.
The ED case is based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in May this year. On May 5, CBI officers had conducted searches at seven locations in Mumbai, including Goyal's residence and offices. The CBI FIR said that a written complaint filed on November 11 last year alleged cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and criminal misconduct by the Jet Airways founder.
The complaint, signed by P Santosh, Chief General Manager, Canara Bank, also mentioned Anita Naresh Goyal, Gaurang Ananda Shetty, unknown public servants and others, causing a wrongful loss of Rs 538.62 crore to the bank.
In April 2019, Jet Airways suspended its operations due to a severe cash crunch and mounting debt. The airline once used to be India's largest private carrier. The sources clarified that the CBI searches were not conducted at the premises linked to the new owners of Jet Airways.