ED arrests Sadhna Group MD Rakesh Gupta in Rs 168 crore money laundering case

Dr Rakesh Gupta, chairman and managing director of Sadhna Group, was arrested and remanded to five days of Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody early on Saturday after his arrest in a money-laundering case involving alleged proceeds of crime worth Rs 168 crore. Sadhna Group operates Sadhna TV and related media networks.

In his order, Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler said that Gupta, 63, should be produced before the court again by 4 pm on October 15. “Gupta was arrested at 10.25 pm on Friday at Ishwar Farms in Vasant Kunj and was produced before the court at 2.03 am on Saturday at a residential camp office – within two hours of the grounds of arrest being furnished, and within 24 hours of arrest,” the court said. “Considering his age and the specific tasks shown, ED custody for five days instead of seven days is justified.” The ED case was registered on the basis of an FIR registered by the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing on September 29 under several sections of the Indian Penal Code on charges of cheating, criminal breach of trust , etc.

Gupta is named as the second accused. Also Read | KPSC chairman Sahukar, member Geetha took bribes to leak answer keys The ED claim against Gupta The ED has alleged that Gupta, as chairman of the group, engineered the insolvency of Sadhna Media Pvt Ltd (SMPL) through related creditors holding 99.41 per cent of the committee of creditors, so that income-tax dues of Rs 110.10 crore were settled for Rs 20 lakh. “They received about Rs 2.50 to Rs 2.82 crore in cash through USDT and hawala channels on the resale of SMPL/Aryan TV,” the agency alleged. “It caused SMPL to pay Rs 4.48 crore to connected creditors, including Rs 2,99,55,042.35 to his own company, M/s Sharpline Broadcast Ltd.” The ED alleged that SEBI, in a final order dated May 29 last year, identified Gupta as the mastermind behind the alleged manipulation of shares of M/s Sadhna Broadcast Ltd and held him jointly and severally liable for about Rs 58 crore. “Proceeds of crime are prima facie assessed at about Rs 168 crore.

The group’s records are kept at its Gol Market office here, which falls within the jurisdiction of the court under Section 44(1)(a) of the PMLA,” the agency said. Also Read | ED summons Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s brother-in-law in graft case Why ED sought Gupta’s custody Special Public Prosecutor Simon Benjamin submitted that Gupta’s custody was needed to trace the hawala cash, the Rs 2.99 crore allegedly placed in Sharpline Broadcast and Rs 8.98 crore shown as payable to Saroj Construction and Graphisads without any bank trail, as well as the liquidated assets of SMPL.

The agency said it also wants to confront Gupta with data from his seized iPhone 13 Pro and iPad Pro and with statements of co-persons recorded on October 9, examine telecast receipts in Dubai and Sydney and the crypto-hawala settlement, identify books, bank and demat records at the Gol Market office, and ascertain the role of M/s Saroj Constwell Pvt Ltd.

The witnesses are the accused’s employees and relatives, the ED said, giving rise to a risk of tampering.