Kampani seeks anticipatory bail

HYDERABAD: Nimesh Kampani, investment banker and chairman of JM Financial, on Tuesday, applied for an anticipatory bail in the Andhra Pradesh High Court in a case relating to alleged fraud on the depositors of Nagarjuna Finance.

Kampani served as a non-executive director on Nagarjuna Finance board, which was alleged to have defrauded depositors of Rs 100 crore a decade ago. Mr Kampani, a respected investment banker, has strongly denied allegations of wrong-doing.

In a petition filed at the high court, Kampani has opposed custodial interrogation. He is understood to have agreed to pay Rs 1 crore as surety.

The public prosecutor was asked to submit a status report on the investigation. The case is posted for hearing on Thursday when the court is expected to take a decision on Kampani���s petition seeking anticipatory bail for a second time.

The public prosecutor stated that assets worth Rs 80 crore had been seized from the erstwhile NFCL, an arm of the Nagarjuna Group. Last December, the Hyderabad police arrested KS Raju, chairman of the erstwhile Nagarjuna Finance, and PK Madhav, former chief executive officer of Maytas Infra, who were on the board when the firm raised money from public depositors. They were accused of failing to return depositors��� money worth around Rs 100 crore.

Nimesh Kampani had earlier sought to absolve himself from the case, saying he had resigned from Nagarjuna Finance in 1999. He had earlier moved the Supreme Court contesting the AP court���s ruling that dismissed his request for bail.