The Supreme Court on Monday directed Arvind Dham, former chairperson of the Amtek Group, to surrender by 10 am on April 8 in connection with a ₹2,700-crore bank fraud case. The directive comes amidst Dham’s repeated pleas seeking more time or interim bail on medical grounds, citing the need to undergo an angiography test.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan expressed displeasure at Dham’s request, remarking, “How many times does he need to undergo angiography?” The court noted that he had already undergone such a procedure recently, and declined to delay his surrender further.
“This is not done… We will not become a party to all this. You surrender. If needed, you can go for the test in custody,” the bench asserted. However, it allowed Dham to undergo the test at a private hospital of his choosing while in custody, at his own expense. If doctors recommend surgery following the angiography, Dham may approach the court for interim bail.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Dham, argued for a stay on the trial in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) money laundering case to allow for medical treatment. Sibal assured the bench that Dham would surrender if surgery was not recommended.
The Delhi High Court had earlier extended Dham’s interim bail on medical grounds till April 7.
The ED recently provisionally attached fresh assets worth over ₹550 crore belonging to the Amtek Group in connection with the ongoing probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This includes action against group entities such as Amtek Auto Limited, ARG Limited, ACIL Limited, Metalyst Forging Limited, and Castex Technologies Limited.
In September last year, the ED had attached properties worth ₹5,115.31 crore in the same case. The agency’s investigation was initiated following the Supreme Court’s directive on February 27, 2024.
Dham was arrested in July 2023 and chargesheeted in September. The probe revealed that Amtek Group firms fraudulently diverted bank loans, causing significant losses to public sector banks like IDBI and Bank of Maharashtra. FIRs registered by the CBI further corroborated these claims under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The ED alleged that the financial statements of the group companies were manipulated to secure fraudulent loans, and that bogus assets and investments were created to deceive financial institutions. Several companies were pushed into insolvency, leading to haircuts of more than 80% for creditor banks.
Among the provisionally attached assets are 145 acres of land in Rajasthan and Punjab, properties in Delhi-NCR worth ₹342 crore, and fixed deposits and bank balances amounting to ₹112.5 crore. These assets are considered “direct proceeds of crime” and are linked to Dham and the Amtek Group’s web of companies, according to the ED.
Sources By Agencies