New Delhi, Oct 16 A Delhi court has rejected the bail plea of former chief financial officer of Reliance Capital Limited, Amit Bapna, accused in an alleged bank loan fraud-linked money laundering case.
The court noted the evidence before it and said that Bapna unauthorisedly exercised power in decision-making regarding the operations of Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) and proceeded to disburse corporate loans after bypassing the sanctions imposed by Reliance Home Finance Limited’s (RHFL’s) board of directors.
Special Judge Vishal Pahuja, in an order passed on Thursday, said, “The evidence gathered by the prosecution agency against the applicant/ accused (Bapna) is overwhelming and indicates towards his overarching control over the affairs of RHFL and RCFL.”
It said that the evidence further shows that Bapna had been “conscious and in full knowledge of the transactions being carried out by the companies which were meant to benefit as Reliance Anil Ambani Group companies”.
“A huge sum of money was transferred under the guise of general corporate loans without prudentially verifying the financial status of such companies, and it is depicted from the evidence gathered that the applicant/ accused was instrumental in incorporating shell entities having negative worth that were used as a conduit to siphon off the public money,” the court said.
It said the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) and the documents also demonstrate that Bapna unauthorisedly exercised power in decision-making in the operations of RCFL and even bypassed the sanctions imposed by the board of directors of RHFL and proceeded to disburse corporate loans.
The court rejected the argument of Bapna’s counsel that ED has not arrested the other co-accused who were similarly placed, saying the accused was placed at a higher authority in the functioning of Reliance Capital Limited, RHFL and RCFL as compared to other co-accused.
It said that Bapna was at the helm of affairs and was passing instructions to other co-accused persons. Some of the co-accused were even reporting to Bapna, it added.
The court said he is not entitled to the relief of bail merely on the ground that he has been in custody for more than five months.
“It is not disputed that the investigation in the present matter is continuing and considering the enormity of the offence, clout and position of the applicant/ accused to influence the witnesses and the possibility of tampering with the evidence as apprehended by the prosecution cannot be ignored at this stage,” the court said.
It also rejected the argument that co-accused Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, who had been granted bail by the Delhi High Court, according to the agency’s chargesheet, was the key decision maker and main architect of the offence committed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and that Bapna merely performed duties under Jhunjhunwala’s instructions.
The court said even if Jhunjhunwala is considered to be the principal architect of the entire gamut of transactions, Bapna is also found to be equally involved proactively in the entire transaction business being the CFO.
“Further, co-accused Jhunjhunwala has been granted bail squarely on medical grounds and not on merits, so the accused does not deserve parity on the said basis,” the court said, dismissing the plea.
(PTI News)
