Sasikala’s husband Natarajan surrenders before CBI court in Lexus car case

Natarajan will get bail after paying a surety of Rs. 25 lakhs
Sasikala’s husband Natarajan surrenders before CBI court in Lexus car case
Sasikala’s husband Natarajan surrenders before CBI court in Lexus car case
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VK Sasikala's husband M Natarajan surrenders before CBI court in connection with duty evasion case connected to import of a luxury car from the UK. He didn't come in the past hearings citing health reasons.

Ousted AIADMK leader VK Saikala’s husband M Natarajan has surrendered before the CBI court in Chennai on Thursday in connection with the Lexus car case. This comes after the Supreme Court had in December ordered Natarajan and nephew V Bhaskaran to surrender before the court. They will be granted bail on the same day after paying a surety of Rs 25 lakh.

The Madras High Court had, in November last year, upheld a two year sentence against Natarajan and Bhaskaran for importing a brand-new Toyota Lexus in 1994 and declaring it as a used car.

This had cause a loss of Rs 1. 06 crores to the exchequer. Following this, the two had appealed against the High Court’s conviction in the apex court.

The Lexus case dates back to September 6, 1994 when Natarajan imported a Toyota Lexus car from the UK. According to The Times of India, he had falsely declared that the imported car was a used 1993 model by producing a fabricated version of the sale invoice.

Cases were filed in the Metropolitan Magistrate court in Egmore and in the Special CBI Court. The Enforcement Directorate had also filed a case under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) 1973, and Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. Later the CBI filed a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1998 and sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The five accused in the case are Natarajan, Bhaskaran, Balakrishnan who is a London-based businessman, his son Yogesh and Indian Bank’s Abhiramapuram manager Sujaritha Sundarajan. Balakrishnan had absconded in 2010.

In 2010, a special CBI court in Egmore had awarded the remaining four two years imprisonment for conspiracy, forgery, cheating and tax evasion. In November, 2017, the High Court upheld the sentence.

Soon after the court’s order, Natarajan, complained of uneasiness and was in a private hospital in Chennai. He had earlier undergone a liver and kidney transplant in October last year. 

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