Delhi High Court Grants Bail To Preeti Chandra In Money Laundering Case, Says Order Be Not Given Effect Till June 16 After ED Request

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Preeti Chandra, the wife of Unitech promoter Sanjay Chandra, in a money laundering case probed by Enforcement Directorate.

However, at the request of ED, Justice Jasmeet Singh said that the order be not given effect to till Friday. As the court pronounced the order, ED Counsel Zoheb Hossain requested that the order may not be given effect to till June 16 as the agency has to challenge the same. The appeal will become infructuous, Hossain added.

“Mr. Zoheb Hossain appearing for ED states that the order pronounced today may not be given effect to upto Friday. At his request, the order be not given effect till June 16,” the court said.

Chandra was denied bail by the trial court in November last year taking note of the “enormity of the transactions and seriousness of the allegations.”

The money laundering case was filed after FIRs were filed by Delhi Police and Central Bureau of Investigation on the basis of complaints from homebuyers against the Unitech Group and its promoters.

ED had filed a PMLA case in the year 2021 against Unitech Group and its promoters over allegations that the owners namely Sanjay and Ajay Chandra illegally diverted more than Rs. 2,000 crore to Cyprus and the Cayman Islands. Chargesheet has been filed in the case by ED.

The probe agency alleged that the funds collected from homebuyers for housing projects were not utilised for the intended purpose and the accused persons committed money laundering.

ED also alleged that Preeti Chandra received proceeds of crime amounting to Rs. 107 crores in her company “Prakausli Investments Private Limited” but did not disclose the ultimate usage of the amount in question. 

Title: Preeti Chandra v. ED

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 515