The extradition trial of absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, who was booked by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last month on charges of money laundering, is set to begin on September 11.
He is due to appear at London's Westminster Court next week, The Times of India reported.
The fugitive arms dealer was released on conditional bail following his appearance at the London court on July 15.
The ED had reportedly filed a case against Bhandari late in July, in connection with a Rs 6,744 crore-deal with ONGC. The fugitive arms consultant's company Santech International allegedly received kickbacks of around Rs 22 crore from South Korean major Samsung Engineering (SECL).
The case filed by the ED was based on a first information report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that named former senior manager of SECL – Hong Namkoong, UK-based company FosterWheeler Energy, and unknown officials of ONGC and ONGC Petrol Additions (OPaL) along with Sanjay Bhandari.
This is the second money laundering case against Bhandari, who was also booked by the ED in February 2017 for alleged possession of undisclosed assets abroad, among other charges.
He left the country in 2016 even as a lookout circular had been issued against him following a case under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).
The CBI had also booked Bhandari, unidentified officials of the Indian Air Force (IAF), the defence ministry and Switzerland-based Pilatus Aircraft in the money laundering case pertaining to the purchase of Pilatus aircraft for the IAF in 2009.
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