Bank fraud case: Court discharges Maltese citizen

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court discharged Nitin Bhatnagar, a Maltese citizen and former Bank of Singapore relationship manager, from a Rs 354-crore money laundering case involving Ratul Puri, citing lack of legally admissible evidence.

Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal ruled that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case.

The Enforcement Directorate had alleged Bhatnagar facilitated the layering of crime proceeds for Puri, but his defense argued he was merely a relationship manager and not involved in the predicate offense.

Bhatnagar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in August last year.