05-Feb-2025 01:58 PM
8795
Mumbai, Feb 5 (Reporter) The Bombay High Court asked the zonal director of CBI to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a thorough probe into complaints of alleged fraudulent activities to the tune of Rs 3000 crore by Anand Jaikumar Jain, the director and promoter of Jai Corporation Ltd (Jai Corp Ltd) a company listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange, having the main business of plastic processing, was incorporated in 1985, a lawyer said here on Wednesday.
The division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj K Chavan gave direction during the hearing of a plea moved by 61-year-old businessman Shoaib Richie Sequeira, who in December 2021 and April, 2023 complained about Jain to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police.
Seeking preliminary probe, Sequeira’s complaints alleged fraud by Jain through various means, including misappropriation of public monies for personal enrichment, defrauding of investors, round tripping of funds through shell companies based in tax havens, making unsecured advances to subsidiaries to launder public money and creation of dubious and fictitious invoices among others.
Petitioner argued before the court that in 2021 he learnt that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had imposed Rs. 20 crore and 10 crore fines on two companies—Mumbai SEZ Ltd and Navi Mumbai SEZ pvt Ltd, in which Jain was the chairman—for fraudulent futures trading in stocks of Reliance Petrochemicals Ltd (RPL).
After conducting in-depth analysis, he filed complaints before EOW, which were instead forwarded to the SEBI. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioner approached the high court.
After hearing at length, the court observed “national and international ramifications in the case” and noted that “the crimes affecting entire society cannot be ignored”; therefore, the constitution of SIT was required to “strengthen faith and strengthen confidence” of the people in the law enforcement agency and justice system, or else the same “would be shaken...////...