Observing that the right to bail is not an absolute one, a special PMLA court on Tuesday rejected the bail plea of Anil Khandelwal, Cox and Kings former Chief Financial Officer (CFO), who has been booked for money laundering related to Rs3,642 crore loans taken from Yes Bank. The whopping amount was borrowed by Cox and Kings, which later defaulted on repayment.
The Yes Bank money laundering case
According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Khandelwal diverted the debt after bypassing the norms. Khandelwal was arrested in October 2020. In his bail plea, Khandelwal claimed that he had no role in the case, asserting that there was no occasion to indulge in money laundering. Further, his lawyer Ashok Mundargi contended that in several other predicate offences, the agency had filed 'B summary report' (submitted when allegations are not found true), which are pending before the courts. The lawyer averred that Khandelwal is entitled for bail as there is no progress in trial.
Special judge MG Deshpande stated that one is entitled for bail right after undergoing detention for half the period for minimum imprisonment. However, such a right is not an absolute one, the judge said, adding that Khandelwal has yet not undergone half the period of minimum imprisonment.
Meanwhile, the ED has been probing 10 more money laundering cases against Cox and Kings Group and its directors based on cases registered in Mumbai and Gujarat. Of them, two cases were registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation, six by the Mumbai police and two cases were filed by the Gandhinagar police.
