PMLA court rejects Hasan Mushrif’s pre-arrest bail plea

The special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court on Tuesday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of NCP leader Hasan Mushrif in connection with the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s money-laundering probe into a private sugar factory controlled by his sons

MUMBAI: The special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court on Tuesday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of NCP leader Hasan Mushrif in connection with the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s money-laundering probe into a private sugar factory controlled by his sons. The ED, however, cannot arrest Mushrif, as the special court extended his earlier interim protection from arrest till April 14.

Mumbai, India - March 14, 2023: NCP MLA and former state minister Hasan Mushrif were reached the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office and joined ‘money-laundering’ pro in th case register aginst him by the agency in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Special judge M G Deshpande, while rejecting Mushrif’s plea, observed that money was collected from farmers and diverted to companies held by his sons, which was nothing but placement, layering and integration of the purportedly ill-gotten money. The court added that applicant was an influential person and could possibly influence witnesses and tamper with evidence, as some of such evidence was in the custody of the Kolhapur District Cooperative Bank Ltd (KDC Bank) where Mushrif was a former chairman. “…Ever since the applicant was interrogated, his workers have submitted hundreds of applications in the ED office to interfere with the investigation, which is serious,” the court said.

The case pertains to the money-laundering probe into M/s Sar Senapati Santaji Ghorpade Sugar Factory Limited (M/s SSSGSFL) in which Mushrif’s three sons are directors. The ED has claimed that Mushrif and his family created multiple webs of companies owned by family members and relatives, through which share capital was introduced into M/s SSGSFL in the initial years. Later, to acquire the shareholding from the paper companies, Mushrif and his family members utilised the funds collected from farmers and transferred them to the said shell companies.

The ED has alleged that farmers were lured to invest ₹10,000 each, through which Mushrif’s family collected around ₹37 crore. But instead of allotting shares to them, Mushrif and his family created shell firms, and allotted shares of M/s SSFSGL to these. Funds were also infused in two companies that had been struck off by the Registrar of Companies. Funds from the shell companies were then further routed to other shell companies, which used them to purchase shares in M/s SSGSFL.

The ED also claimed that when Mushrif was chairman of the Kolhapur District Central Cooperative Bank, he misused his position and granted loans worth over a thousand crore rupees to M/s SSGSFL as well as M/s Brisk Facilities (Sugar Division) Pvt Ltd.

Mushrif, however, has maintained that he has no connection with the private sugar factory, and the case has been registered out of political vendetta.