A special CBI court on Monday ordered the issuance of proclamation against billionaire jeweller Jatin Mehta, his wife Sonia Mehta and another person in connection with a ₹146.35 crore bank fraud case involving Canara Bank. According to reports from The Hindu BusinessLine and TradingView News, Special Judge Nitin V Jiwane allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation's plea seeking issuance of proclamation under relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to secure the presence of the absconding accused. However, the court declined the CBI's request for simultaneously attaching their property.
The CBI had sought the simultaneous attachment of properties belonging to Jatin Mehta, his wife Sonia Mehta and two others, expressing apprehension that the accused might dispose of the assets. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine and TradingView News, the court was of the view that the CBI merely raised an apprehension without placing any material on record to substantiate the claim for subjective satisfaction required under Section 83 of the CrPC. The court stated that the CBI may file a fresh application for the attachment of properties in due course of the proceedings as per law.
The agency has alleged that Jatin Mehta's company Winsome Diamonds and Jewellery Ltd purchased gold from three bullion banks abroad - The Bank of Nova Scotia, Standard Bank and Standard Chartered Bank - on the basis of guarantees from the Indian bank. According to reports from The Hindu BusinessLine and TradingView News, the company later processed and sent the gold to 13 buyers in the UAE, but failed to make the payment for the gold imported on the strength of guarantees. The company has taken plea that export proceeds have not been received from foreign buyers, resulting in invoking the SBLCs (guarantees) by bullion banks that cost wrongful loss of ₹146.35 crore to Canara Bank.
The court noted that despite earlier efforts to execute non-bailable warrants issued in June 2018, the three accused were found untraceable and are concealing themselves. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine and TradingView News, further investigation revealed that the accused are currently residing in the United Kingdom. The record shows that non-bailable warrants were issued against the accused and the same were not executed as the accused persons were not traced. The court stated that prima facie it is brought on record that despite issuance of non-bailable warrants against the accused persons, they are concealing themselves for avoiding the execution of non-bailable warrants and have absconded.
