Bombay High Court grants bail to Hasan Ali Khan
12 Aug 2011
The Bombay High Courth today granted bail to alleged money launderer and tax evader Hasan Ali Khan as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) failed to establish his offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Ali collapsed in the courtroom after the hearing of his bail plea and a doctor had to be summoned inside the courtroom to attend to him.
Khan's lawyer I P Bagaria told IANS that Khan had been granted bail by justice Abhay Thipse against a Rs500,000 surety and had been asked to deposit his passport and not leave Mumbai or Pune without the written permission of the ED's investigation officer.
The court observed that the ED had failed to establish a case of money laundering against him and therefore he could not be considered an offender under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
According to Bagaria, the judge observed that the mere existence of a foreign bank account did not amount to money laundering.
The ED had taken Hasan Ali into custody on 17 March, following the Supreme Court's cancellation of the bail granted to him by a trial court.
