Viva Group’s Managing Director Mehul Thakur and its Chartered Accountant Madan Gopal Chaturvedi have moved a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court seeking bail on medical grounds in a money laundering case concerning Yes Bank.
Recently Thakur had sought bail on merits of the case. On 8 April, the special court had rejected his and Chaturvedi’s bail pleas that had been filed on the ground that they are entitled for bail as the chargesheet had not been filed within the stipulated period of 60 days from the date of first remand. While rejecting their bail applications then, the court had said that there was no substance and merit in the pleas.
As per the ED’s case, HDIL’s Wadhawans took loans of Rs. 200 crores from Yes Bank to pay their various liabilities. They did this using their controlling position in a company called Mack Star Marketing Pvt. Ltd. and took six loans through this company from the bank from 2011 to 2016. Most of this amount was used to discharge HDIL’s liabilities to Yes Bank.
Mehul Thakur, who was operating his family business concern Viva Group, had allegedly entered into two agreements with Mack Star for purchase of two properties in a building in Andheri of a total of Rs. 34 crores, but no consideration was paid by Thakur as required. The agency alleges he had abetted with the Wadhawans in laundering the proceeds of crime.
Chaturvedi, it alleges, was closely associated with Thakur and being the CA of the Viva Group was engaged in preparing and auditing its books but ignored the irregularities. It also says that he destroyed evidence to hide crucial information and thus that he was an abettor in the laundering too.
