The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Preeti Chandra, wife of Unitech promoter Sanjay Chandra, in connection with a money laundering case.
Justice Jasmeet Singh, however, said that the order will not take effect till June 16, after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sought time to challenge the order.
The money laundering investigation was initiated by the ED in 2021 on the basis of various FIRs filed by the Delhi Police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Unitech Group and its promoters on home buyers’ complaints.
The probe agency had arrested founder of Unitech Group Ramesh Chandra, Preeti Chandra and Rajesh Malik of Carnousite Group in 2021.
It has been alleged that the Unitech Ltd, where the accused Ramesh Chandra is the Chairman, the co-accused Ajay Chandra and Sanjay Chandra are the Directors, collected funds from home buyers, for housing projects. However, according to the ED, the fund was not used for the purpose for which it was collected.
The accused persons diverted this amount into several other accounts, the agency alleged, adding that the accused persons transferred over Rs 2,000 crore to Cyprus and the Cayman Islands.
According to the ED, accused Preeti Chandra received proceeds of crime Rs 107.40 crores in her company Prakausli Investments Pvt Ltd.
During the hearing on Wednesday, appearing for ED, counsel Zoheb Hossain urged the court to delay the implementation of order until June 16 as the agency intends to challenge the decision, emphasising that any appeal would become ineffective if the order is executed.
Upon the request of the ED, Justice Jasmeet Singh stated that the order should not be implemented until Friday.
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