Goyals Used Part Of Loan Given To Jet Airways To Buy Furniture, Jewellery: Probe Agency

Seeking the custody of Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, the Enforcement Directorate told a court on Saturday that the Goyal family spent a part of the money given to the company as loans for their personal use. Among other things, the money was used by Mr Goyal and his wife to buy furniture and jewellery. 

The ED's counsel told the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai that a consortium of banks had loaned money to Jet Airways (India) Ltd for operational use, but Rs 1,152 crore was spent on consulting fees. The company also lent Rs 2,500 crore to its sister entity Jet Lite (India) Ltd and then forgave the loan.

While the ED had sought Mr Goyal's custody for 14 days, the court remanded him in the agency's custody till September 11.

The probe agency alleged that Rs 9.46 crore was used by the Goyal family for their personal expenses. This included the purchase of furniture and jewellery by Mr Goyal and his wife Anita. It said the money was also used by their daughter, Namrata Goyal, to pay the salaries of her household staff as well as staff at her production house.

The ED said its case, and Mr Goyal's arrest on Friday, was based on a first information report filed by Canara Bank, which was part of the consortium. The bank had said that it had sanctioned credit limits and loans amounting to Rs 848.86 crore to Jet Airways, of which Rs 538.62 crore has not been repaid. 

Alleging that Naresh Goyal had misused his position as the Chairman of Jet Airways, the agency said he had authorised the spending of money without sanction from the board members. It said Goyal and his associates owned companies outside India and money had also been diverted to them. All this was done between 2011 and 2019. 

The court was informed that Mr Goyal was summoned twice In August, but he had not appeared before the agency. The ED said it needed to find out where the money had gone and requested the court to grant it custody of Mr Goyal for 14 days so that it could question him. 

Mr Goyal was taken into custody on Friday following a long session of questioning at the ED's office in Mumbai.