The special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Saturday granted bail to industrialist Jignesh Shah on a surety of Rs. 2 lakh, in the Rs. 5,600-crore National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) scam.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested Shah on July 13 in connection with the scam in which over 13,000 investors are alleged to have lost money due to alleged malpractices by the directors and promoters of NSEL. Shah is the founder and former chairman of Financial Technologies (India) Ltd (FTIL), which holds 99.99 per cent stake in NSEL. Shah has been in judicial custody since July 18.
Criminal lawyer Aabad Ponda appearing for Mr. Shah argued that the arrest made by the agency was illegal, the court had issued summons, and that he was always ready to appear before court. The ED said the investigations found new facts and evidences indicating a nexus and conspiracy between the defaulters on the one hand and the NSEL and the others on the other. These companies are subsidiaries of FTIL and it is controlled by Shah.
