The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has booked Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and others in a money laundering case and conducted searches at his premises.

Officials said a criminal case against the former chairman of the airlines has been filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after taking cognisance of a recent Mumbai Police FIR filed against him.

The agency conducted searches at Goyal’s premises in Mumbai on Wednesday and also questioned him, they said.

The Mumbai Police FIR relates to charges of alleged fraud by Goyal and others against a Mumbai-based travel company.

Goyal was earlier been grilled by the ED in a case filed under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in September last year.

The agency had carried out similar searches, under FEMA, in August last year against Goyal, his family and others. ED has alleged in the past that the businessman’s empire had 19 privately-held companies, including five incorporated abroad.

The agency is probing allegations that these firms allegedly carried out “doubtful” transactions under the guise of selling, distribution and operating expenses. The ED suspects that expenses at these companies were allegedly fake and at inflated costs which in turn “projected” huge losses.

Alleged shady aircraft lease transactions with non-existent offshore entities are also under the ED scanner. The agency suspects that Jet Airways made payments for lease rental to “ghost firms”, which purportedly routed the ill-gotten money in Goyal’s companies.

Jet Airways suspended operations in April last year owing to fund crunch.