Viva Group MD Mehul Thakur moves PMLA court for bail

Managing Director of Viva Group Mehul Thakur on Wednesday filed a bail application before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in a case of defrauding Yes Bank in connivance with promoters of Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan.

The bail plea is filed on merits of the case. On 8 April, the special court had rejected his and the group’s Chartered Accountant Madan Gopal Chaturvedi’s bail pleas that had been filed on the ground that they are entitled for bail as the chargesheet had not been filed within the stipulated period of 60 days from the date of first remand.

While rejecting their bail applications then, the court had said that there was no substance and merit in them. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had said then that it had filed the chargesheet on 19 March this year, while the 60th day completes on 24 March and hence that it was filed within the stipulated period. As per the ED’s case, HDIL’s Wadhawans took loans of Rs 200 crore from Yes Bank to pay their various liabilities. They did this using their controlling position in a company called Mack Star Marketing and took six loans through this company from the bank from 2011 to 2016. Most of this amount was used to discharge HDIL’s liabilities to Yes Bank. Mehul Thakur had allegedly entered into two agreements with Mack Star for purchase of two properties in a building in Andheri of a total of Rs 34 crores, but no consideration was paid by Thakur as required.