Bank fraud: SC grants bail to Amtek Group ex-chairperson in ED case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to former Amtek Group chairperson Arvind Dham in a money laundering case related to Rs 27,000 crore bank fraud.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe set aside a Delhi High Court order which had denied bail to him.
Justice Aradhe, who was sitting in a bench led by Justice PS Narasimha, pronounced the verdict, saying the court has allowed the appeal of Dham in the case.
The Delhi High Court had denied bail to Dham on August 19 last year, saying premature release could risk undermining efforts to secure accountability.
"With the advancement of technology and Artificial Intelligence, economic offences such as money laundering have emerged as a serious threat to the financial system of the country. These offences pose a significant challenge for investigating agencies, given the complex and intricate nature of the transactions and the involvement of multiple actors," the high court had said.
The high court added that a meticulous and thorough investigation was essential to ensure that innocent persons were not wrongfully implicated and that the actual offenders were brought to justice.
"The complexity of the case, the multiplicity of transactions, and the layered corporate structures necessarily entail a protracted trial," it had said.
The high court had said that the principle that economic offences warrant stringent treatment in bail matters was not absolute. However, "in cases involving large-scale diversion of public funds, the gravity of the offences assumes overriding significance."
"Given the serious repercussions for the economy and the banking sector, such offences undermine public confidence and harm depositors and creditors. Granting bail too liberally in such matters risks sending a counterproductive signal. Granting bail at this juncture would risk compromising both the trial and public confidence in the justice system. Continued custody is thus warranted," it had said.
Earlier, the ED provisionally attached assets worth over Rs 550 crore of Amtek Group firms, an insolvent automotive equipment manufacturing company, under the anti-money-laundering law.
Action was taken against Amtek Auto Limited, ARG Limited, ACIL limited, Metalyst Forging Limited, Castex Technologies Limited and Amtek Group promoter Arvind Dham, apart from some others, the ED had said.
Properties worth Rs 5,115.31 crore were attached by the agency in September, 2024.
The ED probe began under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the directions of the Supreme Court on February 27, 2024.
Dham was arrested by the agency in July, 2024 and chargesheeted in September, 2024.
The probe found the companies, along with other group concerns, were taken to insolvency, whose resolution led to a haircut of more than 80 per cent for the banks, causing "substantial" losses to these public sector financial institutions.
The financial statements of group companies were "deceitfully manipulated" to obtain additional fraudulent loans and create bogus assets and investments in the books of accounts, the agency alleged.
The provisionally-attached assets include 145 acres of land in Rajasthan and Punjab, some properties in Delhi-NCR valued in total at Rs 342 crore, apart from fixed deposits and bank balances worth Rs 112.5 crore.
All the Amtek assets are identified as "direct proceeds of crime" and held through several companies beneficially owned by Dham and assets of Amtek companies held by bankers who sanctioned the loans, according to the ED.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
