Mumbai: Special CBI court rejects bail plea of Chhota Shakeel's aide Ajay Nawandar

A special CBI court on Monday has rejected the bail plea of Chhota Shakeel's aide, Ajay Ramesh Nawandar, who was arrested by the agency in an alleged multicrore Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) bank fraud case.

Dismissing the bail petition, Special Judge Vishal Gogne ruled out, "In the present facts, the Court is inclined to decline the bail not because the offences are economic in nature but on account of the investigation into the present offences being intricate, the accused prima facie being complicit at some stage of the handling/diversion of the humongous funds originating from the loans, a strong likelihood of him tampering with evidence and the foreseeable possibility of him influencing witnesses if admitted to bail."

Earlier in July, the CBI had nabbed businessman, Nawandar from Mumbai after conducting raids at his premises where it recovered a large number of uber-luxury watches worth crores of rupees, including Rolex Oyster Perpetual, Cartier, Omega and Hublot Michael Kors.

During the investigation, it was found that the promoters had allegedly diverted the funds and made investments in various entities. It was also alleged that the promoters had acquired expensive paintings and sculptures worth about Rs 55 Crore (approx.) using the diverted funds, said CBI officials.

The Promoters of DHFL, Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Rajesh Wadhawan, who allegedly defrauded banks to the tune of Rs 34,615 crore, making it the biggest such case probed by the agency, were also arrested by the CBI.

Published on: Monday, August 22, 2022, 06:04 PM IST