Naresh Goyal, Chairman of Jet Airways speaks during a press conference in Mumbai, India, November 29, 2017. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters. Obtaining licensing rights
September 2 (Reuters) – An Indian court on Saturday decided that Jet Airways (JET.NS) founder Naresh Goyal will remain in the custody of India’s financial crimes agency until September 11, an Indian court said in a press release.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which investigates financial crimes in India, arrested Goyal late on Friday.
Jet Airways did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Goyal has not commented publicly on the case in the past.
The case relates to an alleged INR 5.38 billion ($65.06 million) bank fraud case filed by state-run Canara Bank (CNBK.NS). ED said the losses incurred by a consortium of nine lenders were much larger, at 59.6 billion Indian rupees ($720.78 million).
The bank had filed a complaint last May against the airline, Goyal, his wife and a former director of the airline for “causing wrongful loss” to the lender.
Goyal founded Jet Airways in 1992 but shut down operations in April 2019 after running out of cash. The airline was the second largest airline in India in terms of market share.
Under Goyal’s leadership, the airline transferred funds to offshore entities in Dubai, Ireland and other tax havens including the British Virgin Islands, the agency said in its statement.
“(The investigation) conducted by the Department of Economic Affairs revealed that under the guise of professional and advisory fees, funds amounting to INR 10 billion ($120.94 million) went to meet the personal expenses of Naresh Goyal and his family members,” the statement said.
($1 = 82.6887 Indian Rupees)
Reporting by Jayshree P. Upadhyay and Aditya Kalra, Editing by Thomas Janowski and Ross Russell
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