Money laundering trial against Pune businessman from Jan 30

Khan was accused of transferring large sums of black money out of India to various dummy accounts

After almost seven years, the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA ) court ordered that the trial against Pune businessman Hasan Ali Khan be expedited.

Hasan Ali Khan had obtained a permanent account number (PAN) only in 2005, and had failed to pay taxes from 2001 to 2007, according to investigations.(HT File)

Khan was accused of transferring large sums of black money out of India to various dummy accounts. This came to light after the Income Tax department conducted a raid of Khan’s house in January 2007.

The search revealed that he had obtained a permanent account number (PAN) only in 2005, and had failed to pay taxes from 2001 to 2007.

After the Income Tax department registered a case, the enforcement directorate filed a case of money laundering against him.

On the basis of its investigation, the ED filed a charge sheet against him in May 2011.

On Monday, Khan’s lawyer Prashant Patil moved a plea before the special court, saying one of the accused — Khan’s CA Kashinath Tapuriah — had died and Khan was likely to follow suit soon.

“The right to speedy trial is a fundamental right that Khan has been denied. He is in a critical condition and both his kidneys have failed owing to the stress caused by the prosecution’s fake allegations,” reads the application filed by Khan’s lawyer.

After hearing Patil’s contention, the PMLA court ordered that the trial begin from January 30.