Chopper Scam: Enforcement Directorate Tells Court That Ratul Puri Can’t ‘Surrender’ Since He Is Already In Custody

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) told a Delhi court that Ratul Puri, nephew of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, is not in any position to “surrender”, as offered by him in the AgustaWestland chopper scam, since he is already in its custody in the Moser Baer bank fraud case.

The ED made the submission before the court while opposing an application by Puri, offering to “surrender” in a money laundering case related to the chopper scam.

Earlier, Puri’s lawyer told the court that there is a non-bailable warrant issued against his client in the chopper scam case and he wanted to “surrender”.

Incidentally, the non-bailable warrant was issued by the court on August 9 in the chopper case, before the ED arrested Puri on August 20 in the bank loan matter related to Moser Baer.

Puri’s lawyer stated that his client wants to “surrender” but the ED does not want to arrest him.

The AgustaWestland chopper scam case pertains to alleged irregularities in the purchase of 12 VVIP choppers from the Italy-based Finmeccanica's British subsidiary, AgustaWestland.

The NDA government had scrapped the deal in 2014 over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of payment of kickbacks to secure the deal.

The ED has alleged that Puri deposited proceeds of the crime in the bank accounts of different companies owned by him and that he is a key link to unearth the modus operandi adopted by others accused in the case and to determine the “last-mile connectivity” of the proceeds of the crime.