Money Laundering Case: Delhi HC Grants Interim Protection to M3M Owner Basant Bansal [Read Order]

The Delhi High Court granted interim protection to M3M owner Basant Bansal in the money laundering case.

The applicant, Basant Bansal has approached the High Court seeking anticipatory bail since the applicant apprehends his arrest in connection with a case registered by the Enforcement Directorate ('ED') under Section 3 and Section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

The background of the matter is that between the period of years 2018-2020, 13 FIRs were registered by certain allottees of two separate residential projects, Skyon and Floors, plots and Villas, undertaken by the IREO Group, i.e., M/s IREO Pvt Ltd and M/s IREO Five River Pvt Ltd, respectively, on the ground of delay in handing over/delivery of possession of apartments/ commercial units. There were no specific allegations against the applicant, his family members, the M3M Group or any of its entity in the said FIRs.

Later the respondent along with other officials carried out raised on properties belonging to the M3M and its Group Companies. In pursuance of the raids and inquiry, the respondent also seized numerous assets, including cars, cash, jewellery etc. and also issued letters to bankers of M3M and its Group Companies directing that various bank accounts of the Company and its group concerns be marked as 'debit freeze' accounts.

Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the Applicant contended the ECIR was lodged in the year 2021 and after a gap of almost 2 years, the respondent has commenced a relentless hunt to falsely implicate the Applicant and his family members. It was further submitted that throughout the course of the unlawful search and seizure, numerous senior employees of M3M were kept under illegal confinement by the officials of the Respondent.

It was also submitted that the items and valuables so seized by the Respondent and their officials are not proceeds of crime and have no connection with the subject ECIR and that none of the goods/ valuables/ accounts frozen or seized by the Respondent personally belong to the applicant.

A Vacation Bench of the Delhi High Court of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh observed that “The primary accused in the matter, Lalit Goel, the promoter of IREO Group, has already been granted regular bail in the matter and the same has not been challenged by the respondent.

“Therefore, in the above facts and circumstances, the totality of the matter, the fact that the applicant has not been named in the ECIR and that the respondent has not yet been able to implicate the Applicant in any of the Scheduled Offences under the PMLA, in the interest of justice as well as considering the mandate of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, this Court is of the considered opinion that the Applicant may be granted interim protection till the next date of hearing” the Court concluded.

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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