Former Jet Airways promoter under SFIO radar; shares down 86% YTD

Hasmukh Gardi, promoter of Jet Airways in its earliest avatar, is under the radar of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) on suspicion that he had conspired with his old-time partner Naresh Goyal for siphoning of funds, ETNow reported, quoting sources.

The report stated that Gardi had invested in the now-defunct Tailwinds, an earlier parent firm of Jet Airways.

Gardi and Goyal were the Indian directors of Tailwinds, a company incorporated in Isle of Man, through which Goyal controlled Jet Airways. In 2013, Goyal transferred the shares of the airline from Tailwinds to himself.

At present, Gardi is a partner with Goyal’s global sales agent (GSA) business.

Hasmukh Gardi has since settled in Dubai for last many years and is currently not co-operating with the SFIO probe. The agency has already sent multiple summons to him for questioning, ETNow reported.

“SFIO believes Gardi is evading questioning by agencies deliberately,” ETNow said, adding that SFIO may move the court and ask for Gardi’s arrest for interrogation.

In August, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had searched over a dozen premises linked to the Jet Airways and that of its erstwhile promoters Naresh Goyal and Hasmukh Gardi in Mumbai and Delhi in a case of foreign exchange violation.

The grounded airline has defaulted on loans of over Rs 8,000 crore and banks led by State Bank of India have launched bankruptcy proceedings against it in the National Company Law Tribunal. The agency suspects the duo diverted a major portion of the bank loan abroad by inflating payments abroad and through fictitious transactions. It is exploring the possibility of registering a separate money laundering case against the company and its promoters.

Shares of the grounded Jet Airways have crashed nearly 86 per cent to Rs 39.70 on a year-to-date basis till August 30, while the BSE Sensex is up marginally by 3 per cent in the same period.