CORPORATE LOBBYIST DEEPAK TALWAR GETS BAIL IN MONEY LAUNDERING CASE

THE ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE PLANS TO MOVE THE HC TO GET HIS BAIL CANCELLED

NEWDELHI:A Delhi court on Friday granted aviation lobbyist Deepak Talwar bail in a case related to the alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) by his non-profit organisation, Advantage India.

The bail means that Talwar, who is facing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe on multiple corruption and money laundering charges, will now be freed from jail. He had earlier been granted bail in other matters.

Special CBI judge A K Kuhar granted the bail to Talwar on the condition that he will cooperate and not try to influence the witnesses or tamper with the evithe dence. The matter was heard through video conferencing.

Talwar’s lawyer, Tanveer Ahmed Mir, said his client has been incarcerated in several cases for over a year since he was brought to India and arrested. “The allegations against him are imaginary. We have been fighting throughout .” Mir argued for Talwar’s bail saying he has been in jail for 15 months while agencies have not been able to present any evidence against him.

ED’s lawyers, Amit Mahajan and Nitesh Rana, argued against bail saying Talwar is involved in the serious economic offences.

The ED plans to move the high court to get his bail cancelled.

Talwar, who was brought from Dubai in January 2019, is being investigated for different aviation deals and the FCRA violations by his NGO. The CBI filed a charge sheet against Talwar in March alleging that his NGO received ₹90.72 crore under the CSR scheme. But the money was diverted for other purposes. The ED’s money laundering probe is based on the CBI’s First Information Report against Talwar.

Talwar is accused of receiving payments to the tune of ₹272 crore during 2008-09 from private international airlines in lieu of securing favourable traffic rights that allegedly caused losses to the Air India.