The Economic Offenses Wing of the Delhi Police has registered a case against SpiceJet MD Ajay Singh and three other senior officials of the airline on charges of cheating and conspiracy related to provident fund (PF) tax.
“The FIR has named Ajay Singh, Shiwani Singh (director), Anurag Bhargava (independent director), Ajay Chhotelal Aggarwal, and Manoj Kumar,” said a senior official in the department.
According to the police, the case was registered on September 16 following a complaint filed by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO). The EPFO ​​said SpiceJet failed to release more than Rs 65.7 crore from PF money deducted from employees’ salaries.
The airline, which employs more than 10,000 workers, has deducted 12 per cent of workers’ salaries from the provident fund from June 2022 to July 2024 but did not deposit the payment into their PF accounts within the mandatory 15-day period, police sources said. .
The airline in a statement said, “The case was filed before the company raised new capital through a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP). Since then, the airline has cleared all pending salaries and GST dues and made a major breakthrough by depositing ten months of PF funds.
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