NSEL scam: Jignesh Shah granted bail

Shah’s advocates moved a bail plea for Shah on July 18, saying there was no need for his custody and that he would abide by the conditions imposed on him.

The Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court granted bail to Jignesh Shah on Saturday, fifteen days after he was remanded to judicial custody on July 18.

Shah, arrested for allegedly laundering Rs837 crores — earned through transactions and dealings in National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) — was granted bail for a bond of Rs2 lakhs. He was also asked to surrender his passport to the court.

Read: ‘Top NSEL officials received kickbacks worth crores’

Shah was arrested by the agency on July 12 for not cooperating with the probe into the money laundering. The agency said Shah was asked questions related to monetary transactions between Financial Technologies India Ltd, (FTIL), of which he was the chairman and NSEL, which was promoted by FTIL.

However, the defence said his arrest was illegal. It stated that the information sought by the agency had already been provided to them and was on record. The PMLA had earlier refused to extend Shah’s custody on July 18, stating that there were no fresh grounds for doing so.

Read: NSEL’s defaulters diverted funds to real estate

Shah’s advocates moved a bail plea for Shah on July 18, saying there was no need for his custody and that he would abide by the conditions imposed on him. The defense said the case is based on documentary evidence, which the agency already procured and so there was no question of tampering with the evidence.