The Patiala House Court of Delhi has granted regular bail to Vinesh Chandel, director of political consultancy firm Indian Political Action Committee (IPAC), who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on April 13 in a money laundering case.
The plea was allowed by the Additional Sessions Judge Amit Bansal of the Patiala House Court after observing that the ED did not oppose the grant of bail.Following a 10-day interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), a Delhi court remanded Vinesh Chandel to 14 days of judicial custody on April 23. The ED’s investigation directed on allegations that Chandel played an active role in generating and diverting criminal proceeds of several crore rupees.
The Court noted that the senior counsel of the applicant had relied on Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), submitting that since the Special Public Prosecutor was given an opportunity to oppose the bail but chose not to, the stringent twin conditions under the provision would not apply in the present case.
According to the ED, Chandel is a co-founder and holds a 33% stake in PAC Consulting Private Limited, which is under investigation for alleged money laundering under the PMLA. The case originates from a First Information Report registered by the Delhi Police.
Earlier, the agency had conducted searches at the I-PAC office in Salt Lake, Kolkata, which reportedly led to a confrontation with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The ED has alleged that its investigation has revealed several financial irregularities involving the company, including receipt of both accounted and unaccounted funds, unsecured loans without genuine business justification, issuance of fake invoices, and diversion of funds through intermediaries.
It has further claimed that domestic and international hawala channels were used to move cash. The agency alleged that Indian PAC Consulting Pvt Ltd laundered proceeds of crime amounting to several crores, with around ₹50 crore detected so far.
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