HC grants bail to accused who laundered ₹2,188 cr through foreign remittances

The Bombay High Court granted bail to Mohammed Farooq Shaikh, accused of facilitating illegal remittances, citing the right to a speedy trial amid lengthy incarceration.

MUMBAI: The Bombay High court on Friday granted bail to Mohammed Farooq Mohammed Hanif Shaikh, accused of fabricating documents to facilitate illegal transfer of foreign remittances worth ₹2,188 crore and earning around ₹67 crore by way of commission, saying prolonged incarceration would impair his right to a speedy trial.

HC grants bail to accused who laundered ₹2,188 cr through foreign remittances

On May 2017, an FIR was registered against the directors of M/s Stelkon Infratel Pvt Ltd, Manish Shyamdasani and Mungaram Dewasi, alleging they were involved in large scale illegal foreign transfer of money under fraudulent imports of goods during 2015-16. Based on this, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) too launched a money laundering probe that revealed 13 entities located in Mumbai operating current accounts in various banks, including Punjab National Bank and Central Bank of India.

Big sums of cash were collected and layered as Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) credits in these accounts. The agencies alleged these entities submitted forged invoices, bill of entries, bill of lading etc., purportedly issued by Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House and New Custom House. They also allegedly sent foreign exchange remittances amounting to ₹2,188 crore to entities in Hong Kong.

Shaikh earned around ₹67 crore by way of commission in lieu of fabricating documents and supplying them to the traders, the ED alleged. He was arrested by ED in 2018 and granted temporary bail for 10 months from mid-June 2023 to April 2024 on account of his wife’s illness. On April 2024, he was arrested by the CBI.

A single judge bench of justice NJ Jamadar on Friday granted Shaikh bail noting that the investigation being conducted by the CBI was still incomplete and that it was unlikely the trial would commence and conclude in the near future.

“The applicant has been in custody in this case from April 25, 2024. Based on the investigation conducted till date, the prosecution proposes to examine 307 witnesses and relies upon 2,643 documents running into 66,000 pages,” said the court, adding that in this backdrop, by no stretch of imagination, could the trial conclude within a reasonable period.

Justice Jamadar clarified that a long incarceration without a realistic prospect of expeditious conclusion of the trial impairs the right of the accused to speedy trial.

The bench added that the Supreme Court has held even statutory restrictions on grant of bail “melt down” in the face of such long incarceration without trial.