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    Delhi court disposes plea to extend custodial interrogation of Malvinder Singh

    Synopsis

    The ED had filed an application in a Delhi court seeking five days further custody of Singh, in a money laundering case lodged by the ED in relation to an alleged misappropriation of funds of Religare Finvest Ltd . The ED told that court that new facts have emerged after interrogation and during the course of interrogation emails dump of accused.

    Malvinder-Singh-PTIPTI
    The Enforcement agency, on November 14, had arrested Malvinder over charges of misappropriation of funds in RFL.
    A Delhi court today disposed of a plea to extend custodial interrogation for ex promoter of Ranbaxy Malvinder Singh filed by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED).

    The court after considering “rival contentions” and having gone through the application and status report, opined that further custodian interrogation is neither “required” nor “warranted”.

    The ED had filed an application in a Delhi court seeking five days further custody of Singh, in a money laundering case lodged by the ED in relation to an alleged misappropriation of funds of Religare Finvest Ltd (RFL). The ED told that court that new facts have emerged after interrogation and during the course of interrogation emails dump of accused and other key management persons have been received which are “voluminous” and are under investigation.

    The ED also told the court the e-mails have data connected with proceeds of crime and that Singh is required to be confronted with the e-mails. It further pointed that during their course of investigation, it has summoned two directors of companies “where proceeds of crime” has been transferred. “Three people have been called to join investigation who are required to be confronted with accused persons. It is therefore submitted that further custodian interrogation of the accused is required,” the ED said in its plea.

    Manu Sharma, the counsel for Singh vehemently opposed the extension of the custody, submitting that the laptop of Singh was seized in August and there was no justification as to why he was not confronted with those emails earlier. While the ED said that these are fresh emails recovered on November 15, the court while rejecting the plea, remanded Singh to judicial custody till December 7.

    The Enforcement agency, on November 14, had arrested Malvinder over charges of misappropriation of funds in RFL.

    Malvinder and his brother Shivinder Mohan Singh, the erstwhile promoters of Religare Enterprises Limited (REL), are facing charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust. EOW had picked up the two and ex CMD of REL Sunil Godhwani last month.

    The case was registered on the complaint of a senior Religare manager. It was alleged that the company and its subsidiary RFL were cheated and properties worth “hundreds of crores have been misappropriated, siphoned off and diverted through a labyrinth of financial transactions”. The Singh brothers had, in collusion with the co-accused, “orchestrated the financial scam in or around 2016”, the complaint said.


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