VVIP Choppers case: ED arrests woman director of Dubai firm under PMLA

Central probe agency identified woman as Shivani Saxena, director of Ms UHY Saxena, Matrix Holdings

A woman director of two Dubai- based firms was today arrested by the ED in connection with its probe in the Rs 3,600 crore money laundering case, a senior agency official said.

The central probe agency identified the woman as Shivani Saxena, director of Ms UHY Saxena and Ms Matrix Holdings.

The official said Saxena was arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and was later produced in a court which sent her to four days of judicial custody.

The woman is alleged to have received the "proceeds of crime" in this case, the official said.

The Enforcement Directorate had registered a PMLA case in this regard in 2014 and had named 21 people including former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief S P Tyagi in its money laundering FIR.

On 1 January 2014, India scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over an alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of paying kickbacks to the tune of Rs 423 crore by it for securing the deal.