Court Seeks Probe Agency's Stand On Bail Plea For Unitech Ex-Owner's Wife

The Delhi High Court sought the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) stand on Wednesday on a bail plea moved by Unitech promoter Sanjay Chandra's wife, Preeti Chandra, in a money-laundering case.

Justice Jasmeet Singh issued a notice to the federal investigating agency and asked it to file its status report.

The court also asked the ED to "address" Chandra's plea for interim release.

Appearing before the court on behalf of Ms Chandra, lawyer Adit Pujari said the applicant is a fashion designer and philanthropist, who has been in custody since October 4, 2021, and there are no proceeds of crime relatable to her.

The money-laundering case arises from a number of Delhi Police and CBI FIRs filed on the basis of complaints from homebuyers against the Unitech Group and its promoters. The ED has filed a chargesheet in the matter before a trial court.

The agency had filed a criminal case under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2021 against the Unitech Group and its promoters over allegations that the owners -- Sanjay and Ajay Chandra -- illegally diverted more than Rs 2,000 crore to Cyprus and the Cayman Islands.

It is alleged that funds collected from the homebuyers for housing projects were not utilised for their intended purpose and thus, the homebuyers were cheated and the accused committed the offence of money laundering.

The allegation against Preeti Chandra is that she received proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 107 crore in her company Prakausli Investments Private Limited but did not disclose the ultimate usage of the amount.

On November 7, the trial court had refused to grant bail to her "in view of the enormity of the transactions and seriousness of the allegations".

The high court listed the case for further hearing on December 16.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)