The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday alleged Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal “structured” a number of tax evading schemes and siphoned off huge funds in foreign jurisdictions.
The federal probe agency had carried out searches on Friday at a dozen locations of Goyal, his firms and partner agencies in Mumbai and Delhi on charges of alleged contravention of the foreign exchange law.
“The search resulted in the seizure of various incriminating documents and digital evidences. Further investigation and analysis of the seized documents is going on,” the agency said in a statement.
It said preliminary probe “indicates that Goyal structured various tax evading schemes involving its domestic and foreign companies, thereby siphoning off huge amount in foreign jurisdictions through dubious or fictitious transactions”.
The ED said Goyal “indirectly” controls various entities abroad, some of which are in tax haven nations.
“Fictitious and inflated payments appear to have been made to some of these foreign entities under various airline lease agreements, aircraft maintenance agreements, among others.”
“Huge amounts appear to have been sent abroad by way of inflated commission to its own group entity in Dubai which acted as airline’s exclusive overseas general sales agent (GSA),” the ED alleged.
The agency said probe indicates that Goyal is “likely to be” the beneficial owner of some bank accounts abroad having huge deposits.
“Prima facie these transactions involve various violations under the Foreign Exchange Management Act,” it said.