Businessman Ratul Puri gets bail in fertiliser scam

New Delhi, Jan 18 A Delhi court on Wednesday granted bail to businessman Ratul Puri, the nephew of Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Kamal Nath, in a money laundering case in connection with an alleged fertiliser scam.

Puri, who is also an accused in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper and Moser Baer bank-related cases is currently on regular bail in these two alleged scams.

Special Judge, Rouse Avuene court, Vikas Dhull granted him bail on a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh and a surety of like amount.

The court noted that Puri was not arrested during the investigation and said no purpose will be served by sending him to custody at this stage.

On December 23, the court had issued summons against Puri while taking cognisance of a supplementary charge sheet in the case.

Special Public Prosecutor, Enforcement Directorate, Nitesh Rana opposed Puri's bail plea claiming that if he is released, he may flee from justice and may also influence the witnesses and tamper evidence.

Based on the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) case dated May 17, 2021, against the Managing Directors, Presidents, and Vice Presidents of various companies for criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal misconduct, the ED initiated a money laundering investigation in the fertiliser scam.

It had alleged illegal commission from overseas suppliers through a complex web of fake commercial transactions through multiple entities registered outside India (controlled by the accused persons) to camouflage the fraudulent transactions as genuine.