Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, who was recently arrested in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud of Rs 538 crore, has told a special court that the prison medical officer is not looking into his health concerns. Goyal told a special court that he is facing multiple medical issues in the Arthur Road prison in Mumbai.
Goyal, who was produced before the court through video conference, told the court that he was facing multiple medical issues. The court, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), has reportedly sought a report from the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the Arthur Road prison in Mumbai on Goyal's complaint.
Special PMLA judge MG Deshpande saw that the medical issues had not been reported to the court by the CMO despite directions given for the same.
"The report from CMO on Goyal's health issues was not reported immediately," the court noted. The CMO's report has to be submitted "without fail" on September 30, it further said.
The court directed Goyal's lawyers Aabad Ponda and Ameet Naik to submit the copy of the medical chart to CMO, and directed the CMO to submit a report on the issues pointed out in the chart by Goyal.
Besides this, Goyal also made an application for home cooked food while in prison, and also submitted a chart which referred to his health issues that took place while he was lodged at the prison.
The court has also asked the Jail Superintendent to submit a report on whether the food provided to Goyal is suitable in the background of the chart produced by him.
Money laundering case
Meanwhile, Goyal's jail custody was extended to October 4 by special judge MG Deshpande on Wednesday. Goyal was arrested on September 1 in the money laundering case linked to loans and credit lines given to the airline by Canara Bank.
The money laundering case is based on a first information report (FIR) against Jet Airways, Goyal, his wife Anita and some former company executives, which was registered by the CBI on May 3. The FIR was filed after Canara Bank alleged a Rs 538-crore fraud.
The bank had approached the agency and said that it had sanctioned credit limits and loans to Jet Airways (India) Ltd (JIL) amounting to Rs 848.86 crore, of which Rs 538.62 crore has not been repaid.
The CBI had said the account was declared "fraud" in July 2021. It has accused Jet Airways and its founders of siphoning funds. According to the agency, between April 1, 2011, and June 30, 2019, the airline was found to have spent Rs 1,152.62 crore on professional and consultancy expenses.
Suspicious transactions to the tune of Rs 197.57 crore were identified among entities linked to the airline, with key managerial personnel also allegedly being connected to these entities.
The investigation found that Jet Airways paid Rs 420.43 crore of the total Rs 1,152.62 crore in professional and consultancy expenses to entities whose business nature did not match the service descriptions on their invoices.
Even personal expenses, such as salaries of staff, phone bills and vehicle expenses, among others, of the Goyal family were paid by JIL, said the FIR.
While the Canara Bank loan was declared a non-performing asset in 2019, the ED has claimed before that the loan of Rs 538 crore was nothing but proceeds of crime that were diverted and siphoned off.
On September 25, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) ummoned UAE-based businessman Hasmukh Gardi, former promoter of Jet Airways who is reportedly close to Goyal, in connection with the Rs 538-crore fraud case. The central agency will question Gardi, who is also named in the Panama Papers, suspecting his involvement in money laundering.
Jet Airways stopped its operations in April 2019 because of a severe cash crunch and mounting debt. The airline was acquired by a partnership between UAE-based businessman Murari Lal Jalan and London-based Kalrock Capital in June 2021, following an insolvency process.
Also read: Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal's judicial custody extended by 14 days
Also read: Hopes of Jet Airways comeback soar after Jalan-Kalrock Consortium deposits Rs 100 crore with lenders