Recover ₹65.9 cr from accounts of convicts: High Court to Canada

Hindustan Times

4 hours ago

New Delhi The Delhi high court has allowed the Canadian government to recover ₹ 65.9 crore from Indian bank accounts of Indian origin Ontario bureaucrat Sanjay Madan and his associate Vidhan Madan, in connection with a ₹ 290 crore fraud case being pursued before Canadian courts, and directed IndusInd and RBL bank to remit the amount. A bench of justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora passed its June 23 order, after Sanjay, who appeared virtually, did not object to the transfer (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
In April 2023, Sanjay Madan was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment, after he pleaded guilty to stealing $47.4 million Canadian dollars from the Ontario government. The government had accused Madan of exploiting his senior position within the Ontario ministry of education and stealing nearly $11 million by manipulating Ontario's Support for Families Program (SFFP) implemented during Covid-19. Sanjay was also accused of rigging the selection process for IT Consultants as a Director of the i-Access Branch with his associate Vidhan, and receiving more than $36 million through kickbacks from 2011 to 2020.
A bench of justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora passed its June 23 order, after Sanjay, who appeared virtually, did not object to the transfer and asserted that the funds lying in account held by the two in IndusInd and RBL bank, were sufficient to pay the settlement amount of ₹ 65.9 crore. He, however, said that the accounts were lying dormant and undertook to execute all the necessary documents for re-enabling their operation and repatriation of the amount to the government.
As a part of the plea agreement, Madan had agreed to repay the 30 million upfront and pay the remaining over 15 years. The court had also restrained Madan and his associate Vidhan Madan from dissipating their assets including those located outside Canada. Vidhan was accused of transferring ill gotten gains received from the two fraudulent schemes from Canada to India.
Considering the submissions the court thus directed Madan to cooperate with the banks for reenabling their operation within two weeks and thereafter remit the amount to the Canadian government's bank account.
'In view of the submissions of counsel for the Defendant No. 1 and the Defendant No.1 himself who appeared through Video Conferencing Link, the Defendant No.5/IndusInd and Defendant No.10/RBL are directed to co- operate with the Defendant No.1 in getting the KYC compliance done within two (2) weeks qua the bank accounts held in the name of Defendant No.1 in their respective banks. After the above said KYC compliance is done, Defendant No. 5 and Defendant No. 10 are further directed to remit an amount to the tune of Rs. 65.9 Crores in the bank account of the Crown/Plaintiff in accordance with applicable law/rules,' the court said in its order.
The court issued the directions while considering an application filed by the Canadian government seeking to restrain the duo from operating or transacting the funds held in their Indian bank accounts. The application was filed in the suit seeking recovery of funds allegedly diverted to India as a part of the fraud. The suit stated that Madan had admitted before the Canadian court that he had diverted certain funds out of the proceeds of crime to India and used them to also buy properties in India.
In its 12-page order, the judge further barred Sanjay and Vidhan from operating their Indian account pending further orders, with limited exceptions including remittance of ₹ 65.9 crores and payment of legal fees to the counsel, backed by a valid documentation. 'In view of the statement of Defendant No. 1 and the e-mail response of Defendant No. 2, Defendant Nos. 1 and 2 are restrained from transacting from their Indian Bank accounts until the final disposal of this application,' the court said in its order.
The court also issued summons in the suit and fixed September 2 as the next date of hearing.