Corruption
A Crashed Plane, A Dutch CEO, and a Mumbai Scam: The Story Unravels!
– Ammeet Agarwal, a Mumbai-based director, was arrested for a fraudulent aircraft deal.
– Legal disputes and a court order were ignored, leading to the arrest and ongoing investigation.
The Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) made headlines again on Wednesday by arresting Ammeet Agarwal, a director of the Mumbai-based Supreme Transport Organisation Private Limited, for allegedly defrauding Michiel Kneefel, CEO of the Dutch company Air BV Track, of Rs 4.5 crore. Air BV Track specializes in the purchase, sale, and repair of aircraft, including those that are damaged or have crashed.
The arrest follows a detailed investigation triggered by a complaint from Vishal Shukla, Kneefel’s legal representative. The complaint outlined a deceptive deal involving the sale of a crashed aircraft, originally registered as VT-UDN, which had an accident at Ganganagar Airport, Rajasthan, in August 2018. Kneefel, interested in the aircraft for his business, reached out to Ammeet Agarwal, who agreed to sell it after canceling its Indian registration.
On July 20, 2022, Kneefel and Agarwal finalized the aircraft purchase agreement for USD 5.50 lakh (approximately Rs 4.50 crore), which Kneefel deposited into an ESCROW account managed by Powell Aircraft Title Services in the US. However, unbeknownst to Kneefel, there was an ongoing legal dispute involving the directors of Supreme Transport, which had already reached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). This legal hurdle meant that the aircraft, along with other properties of the company, was under a status quo order, preventing its sale.
Despite this, the aircraft was packed and sent from Jaipur to Mundra Port in Gujarat on February 7, 2023, for shipping. Following Agarwal’s instructions, Kneefel then transferred an additional USD 4.90 lakh to the bank account of Agarwal’s uncle’s company, Shorelight Limited, in London.
The situation escalated when Kneefel received a shocking email on May 4, 2023, from Axis Bank Worli branch. It revealed that Supreme Transport Organisation had financed the aircraft purchase with a substantial loan of Rs 12.50 crore, with Rs 10.49 crore still outstanding. The bank had moved to the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) in Mumbai seeking to recover the loan and seize the aircraft.
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Further complicating matters, other directors of Supreme Transport, who are in a legal dispute with Agarwal, informed the NCLT court that he had violated the court’s order by proceeding with the sale. The court then directed customs to prevent the aircraft from leaving the country.
Upon learning of the disputes and the potential seizure of the aircraft, Kneefel demanded his money back. Agarwal, however, refused the refund, stating that resolution would have to wait until the court case was settled. This response prompted Kneefel to direct his legal representative to file a formal police complaint, leading to Agarwal’s arrest.
This incident marks another legal trouble for Agarwal, who was previously arrested in April 2022 for falsely claiming to be an honorary consul of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in India, after his authorization was revoked by the DRC government and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs four years prior.
The case serves as a cautionary tale about the complexities of international aircraft transactions and underscores the importance of verifying legal standings and compliance with court orders in business dealings.