A man, acquainted with accounting practices and arrested in a case of alleged irregularities relating to conversion of old currency and supply of new notes, today approached a Delhi court seeking bail on the ground of collecting evidence for his defence.
Additional Sessions Judge Dinesh Bhat asked the Enforcement Directorate to file its reply by December 23 on the bail plea of accused Rajeev Singh Kushwaha.
Kushwaha sought bail submitting that he was in custody since December 7 and he be released to collect evidence in his favour which is his fundamental right.
Special Public Prosecutor Vikas Garg, appearing for ED, said Kushwaha has been kept in custody so that he does not tamper with the evidence and sought time to file the reply on the bail application.
Kushwaha, alleged to be the mastermind behind floating of shell companies, is at present lodged under judicial custody along with two Axis Bank managers.
Besides him, ED has arrested 32-year-old Vineet Gupta, who has been suspended as Branch Manager of Axis Bank's Kashmere Gate branch here, and 33-year-old Shobit Sinha, also suspended as Manager (Operations) in the bank. Gupta and Sinha were arrested by ED on December 4 and they were later on suspended by the bank.
ED had earlier told the court that the two officials, in connivance with others, were indulging in illegally changing demonetised currency into new notes.
ED had claimed that the probe had revealed that Rs 39 crore in cash was in question and several companies were involved in the case. It had said a gold brick worth Rs 39 lakh was recovered from Sinha while another was yet to be seized.
It had claimed that Kushwaha "used the identity documents of various persons to form shell companies" through which cash deposits worth Rs 39 crore were made between November 10 and November 22 in "close connivance" with the two bank managers.
The prosecutor had said the two bank officials were taking one per cent commission against the total amount deposited. They agreed to accept the commission in the form of gold bar worth Rs 39 lakh, he had said.
Axis Bank had said in a statement, "The bank is committed to following the highest standards of corporate governance and has zero tolerance towards any deviation on the part of any of its employees from the set model code of conduct. In this particular case, the bank has suspended the erring employee and is cooperating with the investigating agencies."
A number of bank accounts of various people and traders are under the scanner of the agency in the case, ED had said.
ED had lodged a criminal complaint against the two bankers and others based on a Delhi Police FIR after three persons were intercepted with Rs 3.7 crore cash in old currency a few days ago in front of the bank's Kashmere Gate branch.
The Income Tax department too had surveyed the bank branch and searched the residential premises of the two.
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