The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to Jignesh Shah, the promoter of Financial Technologies (FTIL) and one of the prime accused in the Rs 5600 crore National Spot Exchange (NSEL) scam that came into light in August 2013.
Shah was in the judicial custody for more than 100 days after the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police charged him with forgery and criminal conspiracy among other charges. FTIL is the holding company of NSEL.
In his final order on the bail hearing, Justice A M Thipsay said that Shah would require to appear before the investigating officers of EoW twice a week, on Monday and Thursday between 11 am and 1 pm until further orders. Shah’s bail surety is kept at Rs 5 lakh cash and he is been asked to furnish an additional solvent surety of an equal amount within 2 weeks.
Shah and his aide Shreekant Javalgekar, former Chief Financial Officer of FTIL were booked under Maharashtra Protection of Interests of Depositors (MPID) Act and were taken into custody on May 7, 2014. While Javalgekar was granted a bail by the MPID court on June 24, the bail plea of Shah was rejected post which he approached the Bombay High Court.
Shah was arrested nine months after the the FIR against NSEL directors and key persons was filed on September 30,2013 as EOW found him to be evasive during numerous interrogation that took palce within the said period.
In the first week of August EOW submitted a second chargesheet in the NSEL case which highlighted the alleged part played by Jignesh Shah in the NSEL scam. Besides questioning the role Shah played as the head of the audit committee at NSEL, it accuses Shah of arranging corporate guarantee of Rs 14 crore for NK Proteins, the largest NSEL defaulter that owed Rs 970 crore when the scam emerged.
It states that despite having full knowledge of financing activities undertaken at NSEL, Shah “deliberately misinterpreted that trading on NSEL was safe and smooth activity offering highest level of safety for participants?.
EOW has booked Shah under sections 409,465467, 468,471,474,477(A), 120(B) of Indian Penal Code and sections 3 & 5 of MPID act.
