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Updated: Jun 17, 2020 22:18 IST

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has said that the arrest of his nephew Ratul Puri is “purely mala fide” action. Puri, a businessman, was arrested on Tuesday morning by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case.

“I have no connection with the business they are doing. To me, it appears to be a purely mala fide action. I have full faith that courts will take corrective stand in this,” Kamal Nath was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Ratul Puri was arrested in connection with a money laundering case concerning an alleged bank fraud of Rs 354 crore, officials familiar with the matter said.

The arrest has taken place after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) last week booked Puri, a former executive director of Moser Baer India Ltd, and others after a fraud case was filed by Central Bank of India. The CBI had also conducted searches at several places, including the office of Moser Baer at Okhla Industrial Area and at residences of its directors in Delhi.

The ED arrested Puri for custodial interrogation allegedly because of his non-cooperative conduct after he appeared before the agency on Monday night. He was summoned by the agency for questioning on a fresh criminal case filed by CBI on Saturday, officials said. He will be produced before a special court in Delhi on Tuesday.

“Arrest of Ratul Puri former ED Moser Baer reflects motivated behaviour of the agencies. The case filed against him while NCLT [National Company Law Tribunal] process has been completed reflects unconstitutional behavior. All necessary diligence was carried under Restructuring Professional (RP) post which NCLT proceeding were carried out,” a spokesperson for Ratul Puri said.

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