New Delhi, Aug 18: The Supreme Court today extended till August 26 the stay on the bail granted to Pune stud farm owner Hasan Ali Khan, who was arrested in March on charges of money laundering.
A bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir passed the order after hearing for two hours arguments put forth by Additional Solicitor General Haren Rawal, who on behalf of Enforcement Directorate, challenged the bail granted to Khan by the Bombay High Court about a week back.
The apex court fixed Wednesday for further hearing on the matter.
Earlier, in the day, the apex court expressed its ire over non-appearance of the government lawyer when the matter came up for hearing. It threatened to vacate the stay after Rawal failed to appear before it.
The Bombay High Court had granted bail to 53-year-old Khan on August 12, observing that the agency had failed to show that the wealth amassed by him was proceeds of crime.
“The documents reveal that Hasan Ali Khan has huge funds in his accounts to the extent of 800 million US dollars with a bank outside India,” the Enforcement Directorate had said.
The agency, in its petition, alleged that various transactions led by Khan through his foreign bank accounts reveal his association with international arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi.
“The documents point to deep linkage between Khan and Khashoggi,” the agency said while pressing for stay on Bombay High Court's order granting bail to Khan.
The ED had said that Khan and his arrested accomplice Kashinath Tapuriah had deep links with bank officials in the US, Switzerland, Singapore, UAE and other countries. It had alleged that Khan has links with Khashoggi, and in 2003, USD 300 million was apparently received by him from the arms dealer from weapon sales.
It had also said the accused had created a complex maze of structures and transactions to hide the true source of funds and frustrate the investigations. PTI
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