Enforcement Directorate’s custody cell at it's headquarters Ceejay House, erstwhile property of late Iqbal Mirchi in Mumbai’s Worli, got its lone inmate on Saturday as the special PMLA court sent Naresh Goyal, ex-chairman of Jet Airways (India) Ltd, to ten days custody. Ceejay House has been one of the most expensive commercial spaces where Mirchi’s family owned a few floors, but today the Enforcement Directorate sleuths are sitting there, bag and baggage, running their regional and zonal offices—a move that symbolises the end of the dark underworld era in Mumbai.
After the ED attached Mirchi’s properties at the high profile address in 2020-2021, the agency moved its zonal office there and in June this year, the regional office was also moved into the building that has built lockups on the third floor for the accused sent to ED’s custody for questioning.
Though Goyal will be lodged in one of these lockups for ten days, it is not the rumoured links with any underworld dons that the ED will be asking him, rather it is purely the web of money and its laundering that the sleuths are interested in. These include various aspects of diversion of business income from the company for personal gains and enrichment, stashing money in tax havens Jersey and British Virgin Islands besides acquiring properties in Dubai and the UK, allegedly for the purpose of laundering proceeds of crime. The ED sleuths are also in possession of certain documents that alleged Goyal’s potential linkages with one H.D. Gardi whose name appeared in Panama Papers.
The ED arrested Goyal on Friday in the Rs 538 crore Canara bank fraud case, probing money laundering charges on the basis of an FIR registered by the CBI where he is accused of siphoning off bank funds with the help of subsidiaries by showing bogus expenses and illegally diverting the loan proceeds, causing heavy loss to the bank.
The ED alleges that the total NPA of the group is much more as multiple loans from consortium of banks turned NPA over the years; inadequate documents were provided by JIL to the Forensic Auditor and payments to certain entities were not commensurate with the income. The outcome was huge personal gains for Goyal in both movable and immovable properties, according to ED.
Goyal is likely to be questioned about the forensic audit report which reported outstanding NPAs of Rs 6,000 crore to JIL which includes State bank of India at nearly Rs 1636 crore; Yes Bank at Rs 1084 crore; Punjab National Bank at Rs 956 crore; IDBI bank at Rs 594 crore; Canara Bank at Rs 543 crore; ICICI bank (including ICICI UAE) at Rs 529 crore; Bank of India at Rs 266 crore; Indian Overseas Bank at Rs 171 crore and Syndicate Bank at Rs 169 crore.
The ED is also likely to question him about suspect payments to certain entities, consultancy and professional firms besides payments to family members from the accounts of JIL during the period from 2011-12 to 2018-19.
These also include alleged payments to staff at home and purchase of furniture accessories, apparel and jewellery. The ED has its possession certain digital evidence that shows how business income got diverted to tax haven countries. In coming days, the probe into the money trail may spill over to foreign shores.