Jignesh Shah Sent to Enforcement Directorate Custody Till July 18

A special Mumbai court today sent Jignesh Shah, the founder of Financial Technologies Ltd (FTIL), to the enforcement directorate’s custody till July 18. Shah was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday evening under anti-money laundering laws, in connection with the Rs 5,600 crore NSEL case

The ED had sought a seven-day remand claiming that Shah had not been cooperating with the investigation. The investigative agency had questioned Shah on fund transfers’ between National Spot Exchange Ltd. (NSEL), Financial Technologies Ltd. and other group companies, among other things.

The ED told the special court that fresh evidence was being investigated and that Shah’s custodial interrogation was necessary.

Abaad Ponda, appearing for Shah, argued that the arrest was a violation of his client’s right against self incrimination under Article 20 of the Constitution .

Ponda told the judge that the court had already taken cognizance of ED’s prior complaint and argued that the so-called fresh material they were presenting was merely supplementary. This meant, Ponda argued, that his client assumed the character of an accused, giving him the right to not answer the ED’s incriminatory questions.