ARVIND DHAM Vs. DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) That the present application is being preferred under Sec. 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 ["BNSS"] read with Sec. 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 ["PMLA"] for grant of regular bail on behalf of Mr. Arvind Dham ["Petitioner"] who has been arraigned as Accused No. 1 in ECIR/GNZO/13-14/2024 and ECIR/GNZO/14/2024 arising out of FIRs having RC No. RC2202022E00199 dtd. 29/12/2022 and RC No. RC22322A009 dtd. 21/12/2022 which were registered by CBI, AC-V, New Delhi. Petitioner filed a bail application before the Ld. Special Judge, which was dismissed vide order dtd. 21/1/2025.

(2.) The present proceedings arise out of an ECIR registered by the Enforcement Directorate ("ED") pursuant to large-scale allegations of financial mismanagement, fraud, and money laundering within the Amtek Group of companies, including Amtek Auto Ltd., ACIL Ltd., and allied entities. The trigger for investigation was a Public Interest Litigation before the Supreme Court highlighting bank frauds exceeding Rs.12,000.00 crores, alongside multiple FIRs lodged by the CBI and other agencies. These FIRs alleged diversion of funds and creation of shell entities to siphon public money. The alleged activities have caused immense losses to public sector banks. The scale of the matter necessitated a detailed investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 ("PMLA").

(3.) The investigation encompassed the affairs of M/s Amtek Auto Ltd., M/s Metalyst Forging Ltd., Castex Technologies Ltd., ACIL Ltd., and ARGL Ltd., which had collectively availed loans exceeding Rs.26,000.00 crores from a consortium of public sector banks, including SBI, IDBI Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, and Bank of Maharashtra. Due to defaults in repayment, these accounts turned into Non-Performing Assets. Forensic and transaction audits by resolution professionals revealed fraudulent diversion and misuse of these loan proceeds. These revelations formed the factual substratum for initiation of proceedings under the PMLA. The allegations indicate a concerted scheme of misappropriation affecting multiple stakeholders.