Court grants bail to former Mumbai airport MD in 'money-laundering' case

A special court here on Wednesday granted bail to G V Sanjay Reddy, former managing director of the Mumbai airport, and six other accused in an alleged Rs 500 crore money laundering case.

In its charge sheet filed in May 2021, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had named 21 accused including the GVK Group, Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) and its then managing director Sanjay Reddy.

The case pertained to alleged laundering of Rs 500 crore through fictitious transactions to carry out further development of the international airport's terminus T-2.

The special court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases here took cognizance of the charge sheet recently and issued summons to the accused who appeared on Wednesday. Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, their lawyer, moved bail applications, saying the accused had cooperated with the investigation and were not arrested till now. The investigation seemed to have been complete, he added. Special public prosecutor Kavita Patil, appearing for the ED, opposed the bail pleas, stating that the amount involved in the offense was more than Rs 500 crore and the accused, being influential persons, could tamper with evidence. But the court allowed the bail pleas of all the seven accused including Sanjay Reddy on personal bonds as well as sureties of Rs 5 lakh each. The ED has alleged that the Mumbai international airport, then controlled by the GVK group, awarded fake civil work contracts to certain firms using forged documents.

 

The works were never executed, but the airport management paid out the money to the so-called contractors who in turn transferred it to GVK group companies or firms associated with its promoters, the ED claimed.