Mumbai: The special PMLA court has refused to allow home cooked food for Priyavrat Mandhana, arrested for money-laundering. He is however, allowed to have medicines under the supervision of prison authorities. Priyavrat has been remanded to judicial custody earlier this week.
Priyavrat, son of Purushottam Mandhana (promoter and chairman of Mandhana Industries Ltd was remanded to judicial custody on August 6. His lawyer however, pleaded that Priyavrat suffers from anxiety and depression. Hence they pleaded that he may be allowed to have his medicines in prison and also allow him to have home cooked food.
The special PMLA court allowed Priyavrat to have medicines only under the supervision of the prison officials and rejected his plea for home cooked food.
Priyavrat, who acted as Vice President, Corporate Affairs of the firm, was arrested on July 29. ED has alleged that Mandana and his family members siphoned off the loan funds for their personal enrichment. During the probe, ED claimed that it collected details of around 200 bank accounts of MIL. Agency claimed that scrutiny of these accounts revealed that, substantial funds were transferred by MIL to a company M/s Azarel Fashion Pvt Ltd, from there it was transferred to various shell companies.
ED further contended that the shell companies which were managed by Priyavrat like Azarel Fashion Pvt Ltd was used to rig the share prices of MIL. "Demat accounts in the names of such entities were opened with different Depository Participants. Such accounts were used to undertake off market trades in the shares of MIL to manipulate the price of MIL shares," ED had claimed.
ED's probe began after the complaint registered by CBI. Deputy General Manager of Bank of Baroda had approached the CBI in August 2023, for defrauding consortium of nine banks lead by the bank of Baroda to the tune of Rs 975 crores as their loan accounts turned NPA.
During the probe, ED claimed that it collected details of around 200 bank accounts of MIL. Agency claimed that scrutiny of these accounts revealed that, substantial funds were transferred by MIL to a company M/s Azarel Fashion Pvt Ltd. Further probe however, revealed that it was a fictitious entity incorporated by MIL in the name of its employees for layering of diverted funds. Besides, the agency further said, from Azarel fashion major funds were diverted to M/s Swarathma Gartex Pvt Ltd, company incorporated at the behest of Purushottam.
