In connection with an alleged bank fraud case totaling Rs 538 crore, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) searched seven sites, including the offices of Jet Airways and its founder Naresh Goyal. The homes and offices of Goyal, his wife Anita, and former airline director Gaurang Ananda Shetty, which were dispersed among multiple sites in Mumbai, were searched by the CBI.
The FIR, which was filed in response to a complaint from Canara Bank, described alleged fund syphoning through payments made for processing and consulting costs. The FIR states that throughout the review period from 01.04.2011 to 30.06.2019, professional and consulting expenditures were Rs. 1,152.6 crores. Key Managerial Personnel of JIL were connected to these entities, and suspicious transactions totaling Rs 197.57 crores were found in the cases of businesses connected to JIL.
“It is observed that professional and consultancy expenses to the extent of Rs 420.43 crores out of Rs 1,152.62 crores are paid to entities whose nature of business is different from the service description in their invoices raised on JIL,” it further mentioned.
The bank also saw that the turnover of these firms was comparable to the expense amount that JIL had reported against them as professional and consultation fees. The bank said in its complaint that these transactions indicate financial fraud and misappropriation on the part of the borrower, who is using money borrowed from banks for things that are unrelated to his or her business operations—to the harm of the entity’s or the lender’s financial stability.
Officials claim that the account was flagged as fraudulent in July 2021 and reported to the RBI for a total of Rs 728.6 crore. Of this, Rs. 190 crore and Rs. 538.62 crore belong to the former Syndicate Bank. After operating for more than 25 years, Jet Airways ceased operations in April 2019 and entered an insolvency resolution procedure.
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