NSEL investor opposes bail to Jignesh Shah

Mumbai: An investor who has filed an intervention application today opposed the bail plea of MCX promoter Jignesh Shah arrested in the Rs 5,600 crore NSEL payment scam case. The court had yesterday allowed Pankaj Shrof, an NSEL investor, to intervene in the hearing on the bail. Shrof`s lawyer advocate Sandep Karnik contended today that Shah lured the investors by fraud, by assuring risk-free settlements. Investors trusted Shah with their money and they would not have trusted anybody else, he said. "Brand Jignesh Shah" and the promise of guaranteed returns were the attraction, advocate Karnik said, claiming that Shah said his company (National Spot Exchange Ltd) was a government company. Shah has said he was a non-executive director of the company and has blamed the former NSEL CEO Anjani Sinha for the fraud. Shah and former Managing Director and Chief Executive of the commodity exchange Shreekant Javalgekar were arrested on May 7. Shah came under the scanner of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and other agencies last year when NSEL faced a payment crisis and nearly 18,000 investors allegedly lost millions of rupees.

The hearing on bail plea would continue tomorrow.