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CBI finds $80 million in Ketan Parekh's Swiss a/c

BS Regional Bureau

The bank securities and fraud cell of the Central Bureau of Investigation, which froze the Swiss bank account reportedly belonging to Ketan Parekh, has unearthed a sum of $ 80 million in the account.

Confirming this a CBI source told Business Standard: "Only a few days back we arrested Vineet Parikh from Ahmedabad. We are now waiting for the July 19 ruling of the Bombay high court on Ketan Parekh's anticipatory bail plea before any more arrests are effected."

Following the discovery of the huge stash of money in the Swiss bank account, the CBI sleuths are trying to unravel the havala route through which the sum was transferred to the bank and the conduit used by Parekh for this purpose.

"It is still early days for us to be able to give a clear picture on this account. Our sleuths are in the process of reaching to the root of the matter," he said.

Meanwhile earlier in the day, Parekh, the prime accused in the multi-billion pay order scam, moved the Bombay high court seeking an anticipatory bail as he feared arrest on fresh charges of siphoning off huge amounts of money from India to his Swiss bank account.

Justice AB Palkar adjourned the petition to July 19 with the mutual consent of Parekh and the CBI. Parekh filed the petition in the wake of reports, which indicated that his Swiss Bank account had been frozen following a request from Interpol at the behest of the CBI.

Fearing arrest, he moved the court for anticipatory bail. Parekh contended that he did not have any account in Swiss Bank and refuted allegations of the CBI that millions of Swiss francs were deposited in it.

Parekh categorically denied the agency's claim that he had siphoned off the money allegedly acquired from the scam involving over Rs 10 billion of Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank. The CBI had alleged on July 5 that this money was deposited in a Swiss bank.

CBI disclosed that they had received certain information that huge amount of money had been siphoned off from India by Ketan Parekh and his associates. This money was allegedly the proceeds of a number of financial crime and bank frauds committed by him, CBI had alleged.

CBI also alleged that the money was routed to Switzerland through Bahamas, a tax haven for criminal and money swindlers.

CBI said it will also investigate the charges of money laundering and forgery against Parekh.

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