AgustaWestland scam: HC reserves order on middleman’s plea against non-bailable warrants
Justice Neena Bansal criticised the repeated adjournments sought by Gupta’s counsel, senior advocate Vikas Pahwa.
While appearing for Gupta, who has been residing in London since 2019, Pahwa submitted that his client was willing to join the investigation via video conference as he could not appear physically. He added that a fresh application had been filed, seeking permission for the same.
Justice Bansal, however, noted that both sides had already argued the matter on two earlier occasions and observed: “Such conduct is unbecoming of a senior advocate.”
The court underlined that repeated adjournments by counsels, particularly senior advocates, were not expected and subsequently declined Pahwa’s request for further time. The matter was reserved for judgment.
The ED has accused Shravan Gupta, former MD and Executive Vice-Chairman of Emaar MGF Land Limited, of laundering kickbacks in the AgustaWestland deal.
The ED claims Gupta created offshore corporate structures to launder proceeds of crime generated by co-accused Gautam Khaitan and Guido Haschke. Offshore entities beneficially owned by Gupta allegedly received Euro 1.91 million and Us Dollar 3.45 million (approximately Rs 28.69 crore) in illicit funds.
According to the official sources, Gupta left India in 2019 citing medical reasons and has since failed to join investigations, despite multiple summons. An open-ended NBW was issued against him by a special court on August 31, 2020, followed by a Red Corner Notice on August 28, 2023.
The ED made Gupta an accused in a supplementary prosecution complaint dated February 10, 2022, with the special PMLA court taking cognizance of it on March 15, 2022. Properties worth Rs 21 crore linked to Gupta have already been provisionally attached by the agency.
The ED also informed that investigations into the end-use of proceeds of crime are still underway.
India