Mumbai Sessions Court Denies Anticipatory Bail To Businessman In ₹10.5 Crore Gold Dabba Trading Fraud

Mumbai: The sessions court has refused to grant anticipatory bail to businessman Hitesh Gandhi for his alleged role in the case of cheating a businessman through dabba trading, an illegal practice of betting on stock prices outside the exchange.

Case Involves Gold And Cash Investments

The case revolves around 36 kg of gold and Rs 10.51 crore allegedly taken on the promise of good returns. Observing that the offence is of serious nature, the court reasoned that prima facie, it appeared that Gandhi and other accused diverted funds to a Dubai-based entity MCX for dabba trading.

“Perusal of documents revealed that the accused is involved in dabba trading and received a substantial amount of the crime proceeds,” said the judge. Therefore, a detailed investigation is necessary and the possibility of Gandhi tampering with the prosecution evidence cannot be ruled out, the court added.

Investments Made On Trust

The case has been lodged with the LT Marg police by Pranam Mehta, who is a partner with his relatives in PFIVE Bullions Pvt Ltd, a firm located in Zaveri Bazar and engaged in the business of buying and selling gold.

He claimed that in February 2023, their chartered accountant introduced them to businessmen Ladulal Kanther, his son Pallav and Shubham Kanther, who are among the accused. They ran firms, Maxis Bullions and Pallav Gold, dealing in gold and silver.

Mehta claimed that he took a friendly loan of Rs 2.2 crore and invested it with Maxis Bullions in May 2023 and received timely returns. He added that trusting the accused, he again invested 36 kg of gold and Rs 10.51 crore in cash between May 2023 and March 2024 in Maxis Bullions and Pallav Gold. However, the accused didn't give returns this time, leading to their arrest.

Revelations During Interrogation

During the interrogation, Ladulal allegedly revealed that he had given 12kg of gold and Rs 5 crores, which were crime proceeds, to Gandhi to repay his losses due to dabba trading.

Court’s Reasoning

Gandhi, in his anticipatory bail plea, claimed that he has no nexus or proximity with the transactions between Mehta and the accused. “The name of the applicant is not mentioned in the FIR. The applicant had no knowledge that the accused indulged in the illegal activities of gambling on gold commodities. No offence of cheating or criminal breach of trust is made out against the applicant,” read Mehta's plea.

Also Watch:

Mumbai Sessions Court Acquits 4 RPI (A) Workers In 2017 Attempt-To-Murder Case, Calls Incident 'Political Stunt'

The court said, “After going through the case diary, prima facie it appears that Mehta and his relatives entrusted huge quantities of gold and cash to the accused on the promise of good returns.” However, they utilised all assets in dabba trading and failed to return gold and cash, it added.