The Rouse Avenue Court has ordered the discharge of Nitin Bhatnagar, a Maltese citizen, from the money laundering case involving M/s Moser Baer India Ltd. and others. In its ruling, the court stated, “No suspicion arises that the accused might have committed the offence for which the Supplementary Chargesheet has been filed against him.” Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal emphasized that there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a trial, asserting that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against Bhatnagar.
Judge Aggarwal noted that proceeding with the trial without substantive evidence would violate Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which ensures the right to a fair trial. The court underscored that when evidence only gives rise to suspicion rather than grave suspicion, the accused should be discharged.
Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa, representing Bhatnagar, argued that the standard of proof required for framing charges is higher than that for bail applications. Pahwa highlighted that while bail decisions are based on broad probabilities, the charges must be supported by substantial evidence. Advocate Ashish Hira also appeared on behalf of Bhatnagar.
The court also noted that Bhatnagar had not been named in the original FIR lodged by the CBI, nor in the third supplementary prosecution complaint. The court clarified that Bhatnagar was merely working as a relationship manager at the Bank of Singapore and had no control over the corporate entities involved.
Bhatnagar had been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on August 22, 2023, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). His arrest came despite his cooperation with the investigation, which included attending multiple investigation sessions and the removal of his Look Out Circular (LOC) in 2022.
The ED’s investigation, initiated based on a CBI FIR dated August 17, 2019, revealed that M/s Moser Baer India Ltd. was declared a fraud by its complainant bank. The ED alleged that Bhatnagar assisted in opening a bank account for M/s Pristine River Investments Limited, a Dubai-based entity involved in laundering proceeds of crime.
According to the ED, M/s Pristine River Investments received USD 14.18 million from various entities linked to Rajiv Saxena, a hawala operator. The ED had previously arrested Ratul Puri, a businessman and key figure in the case, along with Saxena and another associate. The investigation has led to the attachment of property worth USD 47.95 million.
Despite these findings, the court determined that Bhatnagar’s involvement was not substantiated by the evidence presented, leading to his discharge from the case.
(with ANI Inputs)
