VVIP choppers deal accused Rajiv Saxena arrested by Enforcement Directorate

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Rajiv Saxena, who is also an accused in the Rs 3,600-crore VVIP choppers deal case, over money-laundering linked to an alleged bank fraud, officials said Monday.

They said Saxena will be produced before a court here to seek his custody.

Saxena, an alleged middleman in the choppers deals case, was based in Dubai and was deported by India from the UAE on January 31, 2019 and arrested by the agency in the case.

The deal was scrapped by India in 2014 after allegations of payment of kickbacks surfaced.

The agency had earlier said "Saxena is a hawala operator who runs accommodation entry business in Dubai through numerous companies, known as Matrix group companies, and has laundered proceeds of crime in the cases of AgustaWestland chopper scam (linked to purchase of VVIP choppers by India) and Moser Baer bank fraud case."

Saxena created structures for laundering proceeds of crime generated by accused of both cases either for the kickbacks in AgustaWestland case or defrauding banks by mis-utilising the loans given to Moser Baer India Ltd and its subsidiaries, the ED had alleged.

His role was under investigation in a number of other cases, it had said.