Gujarat-based firm's director arrested, sent to ED custody

New Delhi: A Director of Gujarat-based pharma firm was on Friday sent to one day custody of Enforcement Directorate, which arrested him last night in a money laundering case related to an alleged Rs 5,000 crore bank fraud case.

Metropolitan Magistrate Sumeet Anand sent Rajbhushan Omprakash Dixit to custody after special public prosecutor Nitesh Rana, appearing for the ED, said his custodial interrogation was required. The ED had sought 14 days custody for the accused.

The magistrate, who was on special duty on Friday, directed the agency to produced the accused before the court concerned tomorrow.

This is the third arrest in the case. The agency had earlier this month arrested a former Director of Andhra Bank, Anup Prakash Garg, and a Delhi-based businessman Gagan Dhawan in November last year. While Garg is currently in judicial custody, Dhawan was granted bail in January 4. All three were arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

They were named as accused in the cases by the ED and the CBI. The ED registered a money laundering case in this instance after taking cognisance of an earlier CBI FIR.

The CBI had booked Sterling Biotech, its directors Chetan Jayantilal Sandesara, Dipti Chetan Sandesara, Rajbhushan Omprakash Dixit, Nitin Jayantilal Sandesara and Vilas Joshi, chartered accountant Hemant Hathi, Garg and some unidentified persons in connection with the alleged bank fraud case.

It had alleged that the company had taken loans of over Rs 5,000 crore from a consortium led by Andhra Bank which had turned into non-performing assets.