Sept. 2 (UPI) — Businessman Naresh Goya, founding father of defunct Indian airline Jet Airways, is in custody Saturday following his arrest by authorities in reference to a financial institution fraud case in Mumbai.

Investigators with India’s Enforcement Directorate took Goyal into custody after accusing him of laundering round $65 million (5.38 billion rupees).

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Prosecutors stated they will push for the 74-year-old to stay in custody.

He and his spouse Anita Naresh Goyal are accused of failing to repay hundreds of thousands in loans prolonged to the airline. It wasn’t instantly clear if Anita Goyal had been detained or charged, though her title is listed on the criticism filed by Canara Bank of Bangalore, India.

Officials allege the couple secured greater than $102.6 million (8.488 billion rupees) in loans and credit score over a number of years whereas working the airline, which ceased operations in 2019. More than $65 million stays excellent.

Investigators consider the couple siphoned the cash into private accounts. They additionally accused of utilizing the cash to pay for private bills like telephone payments and automobile purchases.

Officials tried to query Goyal in July however weren’t capable of find him.

Goyal, who was charged underneath the nation’s Prevention of Money Laundering Act, based Jet Airways in 1992 and the airline started operations a yr later.

At its peak, the provider had a fleet of 4 Boeing 737 plane for short-to-medium-haul flights and three Boeing 777 jets for longer operations.

The firm at one level was India’s largest non-public provider however couldn’t maintain mounting debt.

Forensic audits uncovered the monetary discrepancies.

Amid insolvency hearings, the corporate was bought to a conglomerate of personal traders in 2021 with the intention of relaunching the next yr. However, the corporate has yet to restart operations.