NEW DELHI: Citing an investigation carried out so far by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), a special court in Mumbai on Monday noted Naresh Goyal, the founder of Jet Airways, siphoned off funds abroad by creating trusts and used them to buy properties.
Goyal, 74, was arrested earlier this month by the ED in an alleged Rs 538 crore bank fraud case. His ED custody was extended till September 14 by the court in the money laundering case. The ED told the court that the maximum money that was siphoned off had been stacked in foreign accounts and there is a person in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to look after it and further probe was needed into the matter. Goyal’s side argued that he didn’t take any loans in his or his family’s name or stood as a guarantor for them.
The court, in its order, said statements of the accused prima facie indicate he has avoided giving details of his bank accounts as well as movable and immovable properties in India and abroad. When he was interrogated about these details, Goyal referred to one Hasmukh Gardi, a UAE resident to whom he had given power of attorney.