Company director accused of €410,000 theft and money laundering in alleged investment fraud

Jasjit Singh Kalsi (59) is alleged to have stolen investors' funds and used them for “his own personal benefit.”

Dublin District Court heard 17 people invested a total of €2 million in his company and further charges would be brought in the case.

Judge Grainne Malone granted him bail but with cash lodgements of more than €100,000. He was remanded in custody with consent to bail.

Mr Singh Kalsi, with an address at Cahercalla Beg, Ennis, Co Clare is charged with two counts of theft, one of money laundering and another of fraudulent trading.

He is charged with possession of €330,217 in crime proceeds at AIB, Croom, Limerick on September 10, 2007 and two counts of stealing €40,000 at Ulster Bank, Ennis on dates in May and June 2007; and dishonestly inducing investment in a company between 2006 and 2010.

Detective Garda Darren Hughes of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau said the accused was charged at Kevin Street station this morning.

He objected to bail based on the seriousness of the alleged offences and said further charges would be forthcoming.

Outlining the prosecution’s case, he said the accused was director of a property investment company when he allegedly stole investors’ funds and used them for his own personal benefit.

It was alleged the way the company operated constituted fraudulent trading in the way it was marketed to investors, and that records were falsified.

The money laundering charge related to monies that came from a client account which were allegedly put in the accused’s personal bank account and spent on personal expenses.

The combined value in the charges was €410,000 and some 17 investors invested approximately €2 million in the company, Det Gda Hughes said.

The 17 investors had made detailed statements in relation to their dealings with Mr Singh Kalsi and his company. There was also a statement from the liquidator and banking exhibits linking the accused to the offences, the garda said.

Mr Singh Kalsi was a “significant flight risk” as he had no known residence in Ireland and would return to the UK if bailed, the garda believed.

The accused had failed to meet gardai for interview in 2015 and 2016 and they had been unable to locate him for interview for the last four years.

Det Gda Hughes believed the accused had been evasive and would avoid prosecution if granted bail. At the time of the offences, there was evidence of a “significant property portfolio” and the garda believed the accused was “a man of significant means.”

Applying for bail, defence solicitor Brian Coveney said it was a complex investigation that would ultimately be tried in the circuit court.

Mr Singh Kalsi, who was presumed innocent, had presented himself at the garda station by appointment and denied all the allegations, he said.

The accused was now working as a locum management consultant in the UK but was also caring for his elderly mother in Slough.

He had no family ties to this jurisdiction but had friends residing here.

Judge Malone said the seriousness of the offences spoke for themselves. She set bail in the accused’s own bond of €50,000, a third of which is to be lodged in cash. She also required two independent sureties of €150,000 each, again with a third to be lodged in cash.

Mr Jit Singh Kalsi is to provide an address he can live in in Ireland, sign on daily at the local garda station and provide a contact phone number.

He is also to surrender his passport, not apply for any other travel documents and inform gardai of any change of address.

He was remanded in custody with consent to bail to appear in Cloverhill District Court on December 3.