Panchkula: A special court dealing with cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has rejected the bail application of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Deepak Singla in connection with an alleged bank fraud and money laundering case.
Singla, who serves as the party’s Goa in-charge and has previously contested Assembly elections from Delhi’s Vishwas Nagar constituency, was arrested on May 18 as part of the ongoing investigation.
The case originates from a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in March 2018 following a complaint by Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC). Investigators alleged that a private company and its associates were involved in a scheme that caused substantial financial losses to the bank.
According to the CBI, the company had established a subsidiary in Singapore that obtained loans from overseas financial institutions based on standby letters of credit issued by a consortium of Indian banks. Investigators alleged that the value of certain credit instruments was fraudulently enhanced, resulting in significant losses to OBC.
The agency claimed that the company’s outstanding liabilities eventually ran into hundreds of crores of rupees, leading to the filing of a chargesheet in the case.
Separately, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a money laundering case in 2019 based on the CBI investigation. The agency alleged that several individuals conspired to inflate the value of financial documents and used forged import-related records and invoices to divert funds.
According to the ED, the alleged manipulation of credit-related documents enabled the accused to obtain funds far exceeding the original sanctioned amounts.
The court, after considering the submissions made during the bail proceedings, declined to grant relief to Singla. The investigation into the alleged financial irregularities and money laundering transactions remains ongoing.
