A Mumbai Sessions court has sent Pune-based stud farm owner Hasan Ali, who is alleged to have stashed away over eight billion dollars in Swiss banks, to judicial custody till April 8. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had produced Ali before a magistrate last night after his three-days custody with the probe agency ended.
On March 21, the Supreme Court extended Ali’s custody with the Enforcement Directorate by three more days. The apex court had earlier on March 17 granted a four-day custody of Hasan Ali to the probe agency.
The apex court bench had earlier reproached the Centre for failing to subject Khan and other alleged money launderers to custodial interrogation.
In pursuant of the apex court’s direction, the ED had moved a remand application before the court of Principal Sessions Judge M L Tahaliyani on March 11, which, however, rejected the Directorate’s plea on the ground that the agency could not gather sufficient material in justification of its plea.
While rejecting the ED’s remand application, Judge Tahaliyani had observed that had it had failed to back its charges in a money laundering case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
“No material evidence has been presented by the ED that shows any scheduled offence has been committed by Khan,” Tahaliyani had observed, ordering that Khan be enlarged on conditional bail.
The court granted him bail for Rs 80,000 and two sureties. The court refused to stay the order for ED to file an appeal in the higher court.
The Enforcement Directorate arrested Ali, who also has been accused of forging documents to acquire multiple passports, in Mumbai on the night of March 7 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The Income Tax Tribunal had on March 4 issued a showcause notice to Hasan Ali.
