BENGALURU – India’s monetary crime company has seized properties price 5.38 billion rupees (almost $65 million) as a part of its probe into cash laundering allegations towards the now-defunct Jet Airways and founder Naresh Goyal, the company mentioned on Wednesday.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) mentioned it has seized 17 residential and industrial properties in London, Dubai and India that had been registered within the names of assorted firms and folks, together with Goyal, his spouse and son.

Goyal has been in judicial custody since September when the ED arrested him in relation to the cash laundering that was filed by state lender Canara Bank in May.

Jet Airways had siphoned off loans from a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank, the ED mentioned.

The company doubled down on its declare that below Goyal’s management, the airline had siphoned off funds below the garb {of professional} and consultancy charges to abroad entities and in the direction of the bills of Goyal and his members of the family.

“Naresh Goyal implemented a massive financial fraud,” it mentioned on Wednesday.

Goyal’s lawyer informed Reuters, “We are going through the charge sheet and are currently evaluating our options.”

Goyal based Jet Airways in 1992 and led it to develop into India’s second-largest provider in India by market share. It shut down operations in April 2019 after working out of money.

($1 = 83.2615 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Indranil Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)