Hyderabad: In a relief to Musaddilal Gems and Jewels Pvt. Ltd and its director Shashank Gupta, the Telangana High Court on Wednesday granted an interim stay on the proceedings initiated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Special Court, which had taken cognisance of the charges against Gupta in an alleged money laundering case.
On March 1, the Special Court, after examining the ED’s charge sheet and witness statements, took cognisance of the case against Sukesh Gupta, his brother Anurag Gupta, besides Shashank Gupta and Karri Ravi Prasad (retired senior manager, MMTC Ltd.) and Valluri Mohan Rao (general manager, MMTC Ltd).
The case pertains to the alleged defrauding of MMTC Ltd. by Musaddilal in the purchase of gold bullion under the Buyer’s Credit Scheme, resulting in a wrongful loss of `226.82 crore (principal amount) to the public sector undertaking, which handles large-scale exports and imports metals and minerals.
According to the ED, the accused are liable for punishment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which mandates a minimum of three years of rigorous imprisonment, extendable up to seven years, along with a fine. The Special Court had also issued summons directing them to appear before it.
Challenging the court’s move, Shashank Gupta approached the High Court, arguing through his counsel B. Vamshidhar Reddy, that the matter is already under the consideration of the Supreme Court. Despite this, the Special Court had taken cognisance of the charge sheet. Taking note of the argument, the High Court stayed further proceedings against Shashank Gupta before the ED Special Court.
