ED opposes bail plea of ex-Andhra Bank official in loan fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate today opposed the bail application of a former Andhra Bank director, arrested in a money laundering case relating to an alleged Rs 5,000 crore bank fraud involving a Gujarat-based pharma firm.

The agency submitted before Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma that accused Anup Prakash Garg should not be granted bail since the investigation was still on.

Asked about the status of probe against other accused persons, advocate Nitesh Rana, appearing for Enforcement Directorate (ED), told the court that the ED was in the process of issuing Red Corner Notice against two fugitive accused -- Nitin Sandesara and Chetan Sandesara -- against whom non-bailable warrants were issued earlier.

Rana told the court that the accused played a key role in money laundering and may hamper with the investigation if enlarged on bail. "Considering his offence, he does not deserve bail," the counsel said.

The court will pronounce order on the application tomorrow.

In his bail application, the accused has said he was not the main accused in the case and had always cooperated with the investigation, even before his arrest. He said he was in custody for 109 days and the charge sheet against him has already been filed, so he was not required for the further probe.

Garg was arrested by the probe agency on January 12 and is currently in judicial custody. He was one of the three persons arrested in the case. The agency had in November last year held Delhi-based businessman Gagan Dhawan.

Besides Dhawan and Garg, the ED has also arrested Rajbhushan Omprakash Dixit, one of the directors of the pharma firm, who is currently in the agency's custody for interrogation. All three were arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED had lodged the money laundering case after taking cognisance of an FIR registered by the CBI.

The CBI had booked Garg, the firm Sterling Biotech, its directors Dixit, Chetan Jayantilal Sandesara, Dipti Chetan Sandesara, Nitin Jayantilal Sandesara and Vilas Joshi, chartered accountant Hemant Hathi and some unidentified persons in connection with the case. It had alleged that the company took loans of over Rs 5,000 crore from a consortium led by Andhra Bank, which turned into non-performing assets.

The FIR had also alleged that the total pending dues of the group companies were Rs 5,383 crore as on December 31, 2016. It had alleged that "various cash payments were made to Garg, as reflected in the said entries, on the instructions of the Sandesara brothers, by withdrawing cash from the bank accounts of several benami companies owned by them."