The bench had said the details of all the communication with the banks should be shared with the investigating agency
New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI): The supreme court on Monday decided to hear after two weeks the CBI’s plea against a Bombay High Court order allowing Mainak Mehta, the brother-in-law of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi who is an accused in the punjab national bank (PNB) fraud case, to travel abroad.
Earlier, a bench headed by chief justice D Y Chandrachud had asked Mehta to write to the banks, where his accounts are being probed by the CBI, and seek the statements of transactions.
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The bench, also comprising Justice J B Pardiwala, recorded the statement of senior advocate Amit Desai, appearing for Mehta, that a communication has been sent to the banks seeking statement of transactions.
“Banks have said that the matter is being looked into. Let the proceedings be listed exactly after two weeks when we will have the status of the progress,” the bench said in its order on Monday.
Desai said Mehta has been cooperating with the enforcement directorate (ED) and was made an approver in the money laundering case involving Modi, and now he is being harassed by the CBI.
Additional solicitor general S V Raju said Mehta is related to Neerav Modi, an accused in the multi-crore rupees punjab national bank (PNB) fraud case and, moreover, he had not cooperated fully in the investigation.
The CBI has been alleging Mehta received a large sum of money siphoned off in the PNB fraud which was transferred to his wife’s bank account.
Mehta had told the court that his bank accounts, including those in Singapore, were frozen following a money laundering probe launched by the ED.
The bench had said the details of all the communication with the banks should be shared with the investigating agency.
The apex court had said it will allow Mehta to travel abroad once he furnishes the bank statements and had posted the matter for hearing on November 14.
The court was hearing the CBI’s plea challenging the August 23 order of the Bombay high court that allowed Mehta to travel to Hong Kong and stay there for three months.
On October 18, the top court had asked the CBI and the enforcement directorate (ED) to sit together within a week and share material with regard to the money transactions and disclosures made by Mehta with each other.
The CBI had earlier flagged issues with regard to non-disclosure of transactions in bank accounts, including the one based in Singapore, two transactions of USD 8.9 million and USD 1.8 million transferred by Modi’s father.
The probe agency had said Mehta should share the details with it after which he might be considered for travelling abroad.
The CBI has submitted that Mehta is a British citizen who has given certain details but not made full disclosure with regard to the said bank accounts and there is apprehension that he may not return to India.
It has alleged an amount of USD 30 million was sent by Modi, which was diverted by Mehta, and said it needs to know the details.
On August 23, the Bombay high court had dismissed the CBI’s plea against an order of a special court dealing with cases lodged under the prevention of money laundering Act (PMLA) that allowed Mehta to travel to Hong Kong. The CBI wanted the PMLA court’s order to be stayed.
The agency had submitted in the high court that Mehta was not named as an accused in the case and his role in the PNB scam was yet to be ascertained for which he needed to be interrogated.
