Naresh Goyal, Jet Airways founder arrested in Rs 538 crore bank fraud case

New-Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday arrested Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal in the Rs 538 crore Canara Bank fraud case.

Goyal was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), following a long session of questioning at the ED’s office in Mumbai.

Goyal will be produced before a special PMLA court in Mumbai on Saturday, where the ED will seek his custodial remand.

The ED case is based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in May this year. On May 5, CBI officers had conducted searches at seven locations in Mumbai, including Goyal’s residence and offices.

The CBI FIR said that a written complaint filed on November 11 last year alleged cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and criminal misconduct by the Jet Airways founder.

The complaint, signed by P. Santosh, Chief General Manager, Canara Bank, also mentioned Anita Naresh Goyal, Gaurang Ananda Shetty, unknown public servants and others, causing a wrongful loss of Rs 538.62 crore to the bank.

In April 2019, Jet Airways suspended its operations due to a severe cash crunch and mounting debt. The airline once used to be India’s largest private carrier.

The sources clarified that the CBI searches were not conducted at the premises linked to the new owners of Jet Airways.