The Rouse Avenue Court extended the judicial custody of former Reliance Communications senior executive Gautam Bhailal Doshi for 14 days, as reported by news agency ANI. Special Judge Ajay Gupta granted the extension after considering the application moved by the ED, with Doshi being produced before the court after the expiry of his previous judicial custody. According to reports from ET Now, he was arrested in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged diversion of loan funds worth over ₹40,000 crore from Reliance ADA Group entities.
Earlier on June 17, a Delhi court remanded Doshi to judicial custody till July 1, as reported by ANI. Vacation Judge Rajesh Malik sent Doshi to jail on being produced following the expiry of five days of custody granted to the agency on June 13. The ED had arrested Doshi and brought him to Delhi from Mumbai on transit remand in connection with its probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The court had noted that considering his age around 74 years and medical ailments, he may not be remanded to custody for 14 days as sought by ED, but granted the extended period after reviewing the investigation's progress.
According to the ED's allegations reported by ANI, the investigation revealed that credit facilities availed by RCOM, M/s Reliance Telecom Ltd. and M/s Reliance Infratel Ltd. from consortium banks through multiple banking arrangements by misrepresentation and deception. The agency alleged that after disbursal of the facilities, the bank funds were misappropriated by entering into transactions which were in violation of the terms and conditions of the sanction of the credit facilities. The ED also alleged that RAAG undertook credit facilities from non-consortium banks during the same period, which comprises a set of inter-connected transactions, as the credit facilities taken from consortium banks have been used for payments of non-consortium credit facilities as well. The investigation so far has established a fund trail showing diversion of loan funds from RAAG to foreign remittances, foreign banks and offshore companies, with funds not utilised for intended purposes but invested in mutual funds and transferred to group companies.
As reported by ANI, the ED alleged that Doshi functioned as one of the group managing directors of the Reliance ADA Group, was a director of Reliance Telecom Ltd during the relevant period and also served as a member of its audit committee. The probe agency is investigating the alleged diversion and layering of loan funds amounting to over ₹40,000 crore in the ongoing case. The court noted that the material collected during the investigation establishes his active involvement in the management, supervision and control of the financial framework through which funds were raised, routed and deployed across domestic and overseas entities. Doshi was entrusted with responsibilities relating to overseas financing arrangements, FCCB issuances, foreign bank accounts and offshore corporate structures, exercising banking authority over 161 bank accounts maintained by 105 group entities.
