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A Special Court in Delhi has convicted former Chairman-cum-Managing Director of National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), Abhay Kumar Srivastava, along with three others, in a high-profile money laundering case.
The judgment was delivered by the Special Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act), at the Rouse Avenue Court Complex under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). The conviction pertains to offences arising out of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in February 2011, which alleged that Srivastava accepted illegal gratification in connection with coal supply tenders floated by NALCO. According to the CBI, bribes were routed through Bhushan Lal Bajaj, who acted as an intermediary between Srivastava and G S Bhatia of the Bhatia Group. The CBI further investigated that Srivastava's wife, Chandni Srivastava, used forged identity documents to impersonate Anita Bajaj (wife of Bhushan Bajaj) and operate a bank locker where gold bars and cash were stored. Based on the predicate offence, the Enforcement Directorate initiated proceedings under the PMLA. The prosecution argued that the funds received as bribes were layered and laundered through the purchase of gold, which was then concealed in a benami locker. The court took note of the ED's submission and found that the accused had employed a deliberate and calculated modus operandi to hide the proceeds of crime. The court, in its detailed findings, accepted the statutory presumptions under the PMLA and held that the accused failed to rebut the presumption that the assets were derived from criminal activity. The judgment specifically noted the use of forged documents, impersonation, and layering of illicit funds as integral components of the laundering scheme. The court observed that the involvement of public servants and their close associates in such activities posed a serious threat to the integrity of public administration. Earlier, the ED had attached movable assets worth 2.23 crore belonging to Srivastava and filed a Prosecution Complaint in March 2015 before the Special Court. The trial concluded with the court affirming that the accused were guilty of laundering proceeds of crime and participating in a conspiracy that involved forgery, impersonation, and corruption at the highest level. (ANI)
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