|
Delhi's Patiala House Court on Monday rejected the regular bail plea of businessman Manoj Gaur, former Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Jaypee Infratech Ltd. Gaur has been arrested on November 13, 2025 and charge sheeted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged money laundering case of more than Rs 13,000 crores.
This case pertains to the alleged money laundering of the money of 25000 home buyers. Gaur is on interim bail granted on the grounds of his mother's health. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Dhirendra Rana rejected the bail plea of Manoj Gaur after hearing the submissions of the counsel for the accused and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra and Advocate Dr Farrukh Khan have appeared for Manoj Gaur. ED opposed the bail plea, arguing that it concerns alleged money laundering of Rs 13,000 crores and that there are 25,000 home-buyer victims. Patiala House Court on January 24 granted 14 days' interim bail to Manoj Gaur on the health condition of old age mother; however, the order was challenged before the High Court. Counsel for the accused had stated that Gaur's detention, viewed in the backdrop of the eight-year-old ED case, documentary allegations, absence of personal gain, statutory divestment of control over companies, and serious medical infirmities, is grossly disproportionate and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. ED had submitted that it is a money-laundering case involving the funds of Home Buyers. Accused persons collected Rs 13000 crores but did not use it to provide accommodation to home buyers. ED had said that it arrested Manoj Gaur, former Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of M/s Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. (JAL) and former Chairman and Managing Director of M/s Jaypee Infratech Ltd. (JIL), under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The arrest took place following a detailed investigation and analysis of evidence gathered during the ongoing probe in an ECIR recorded by the ED under PMLA in connection with the Jaypee Group, the agency said in a release. It was also said that the ED initiated an investigation against the Jaypee group on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by the Economic Offences Wings (EOW) of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Police, based on complaints filed by homebuyers of Jaypee Wishtown and Jaypee Greens projects, alleging criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal breach of trust against the company and its promoters. It is alleged that the funds collected from thousands of homebuyers for the construction and completion of residential projects were diverted for purposes other than construction, leaving the homebuyers defrauded and their projects incomplete, the agency added. ED investigation revealed that out of approximately Rs 14,599 Crore collected by JAL and JIL from homebuyers (as per claims admitted by NCLT), substantial amounts were diverted for non-construction purposes and siphoned off to related group entities and trusts, including Jaypee Sewa Sansthan (JSS), M/s Jaypee Healthcare Ltd. (JHL), and M/s Jaypee Sports International Ltd. (JSIL), the ED said. The investigation revealed that Manoj Gaur is the Managing Trustee of Jaypee Sewa Sansthan (JSS), which allegedly received part of the diverted funds, the agency claimed. Earlier, on May 23, 2025, the ED had conducted search operations at 15 locations in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Mumbai, including the offices and premises of M/s Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. and M/s Jaypee Infratech Ltd. During the searches, ED seized a large volume of financial and digital records, along with documents evidencing the offence of money laundering and diversion of funds, ED said. The agency has alleged that the investigation has established the central role of Manoj Gaur in the planning and execution of the fund diversion through a complex web of transactions within the Jaypee Group and its associated entities. (ANI)
|
