Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal was remanded to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till September 11 by a Mumbai court in a ₹538 crore fraud case on Saturday.
Goyal was arrested late Friday evening based on a complaint by Canara Bank. He was produced before a court which accepted ED’s plea for custodial interrogation.
Goyal, who began as a cashier in a travel agency and went on to set up one of India’s largest airlines, has been investigated by multiple agencies since the closure of Jet Airways in 2019.
In May, the Central Bureau of Investigation registered an FIR against him for cheating and criminal conspiracy based on Canara Bank’s complaint. The complaint was filed based on a forensic audit of Jet Airways accounts, revealing siphoning of funds for personal use and bogus expenses. Canara Bank alleged that this resulted in a ₹538 crore loss to the bank.
Advocates Aabad Ponda and Ameet Naik, who appeared for Goyal, questioned ED’s investigation and arrest. They also pointed out that a copy of the forensic report that alleges siphoning of funds has not been given to Goyal, which is against natural justice.