ED raids on Hasan Ali’s properties in Mumbai

The ED on Thursday conducted searches at four locations here in connection with its money laundering probe against Pune-based stud farm owner Hasan Ali Khan and others.

Officials privy to the operations of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said the agency launched the raids early in the morning at locations in Colaba, Worli, Kalbadevi and Marine Lines areas, acting under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The action, they said, was undertaken against an individual named in the ED FIR and his associates who are suspected to have allegedly moved funds in the country and abroad in this case.

The agency, which had first booked Khan (62), his alleged business associate Kashinath Tapuriah and few others under criminal charges of money laundering in 2011, had swooped down on a dozen premises last year too, in connection with its probe. The ED then registered a fresh PMLA FIR against Khan, certain unidentified government officials and others early this year.

This action against Khan and his other associates had come about after a lull of about six years when he was first booked by the ED. The central probe agency wants to revive the case and bring to light additional evidence in the case.

The trial in the first FIR case is also pending before a Mumbai court.

Khan, who was also jailed under money laundering charges, was released on bail in August 2015.

The CBI, too, had registered a case against Khan and others early this year on charges of alleged criminal conspiracy and corruption.

The Hasan Ali Khan case is one of the most talkedabout cases of alleged black money in the country.

The Khan case is the only one listed by name in the terms of reference of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money that was constituted by the government in 2014 on the directions of the Supreme Court.

Khan came under the scrutiny of multiple agencies, including the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai police in 2007, which had been probing him and his associates on charges of money laundering, tax evasion and violations of the Passport Act.

He was slapped with an Income Tax notice demanding taxes over Rs 50,000 crore and it was claimed to be the biggest individual case of black money stashed abroad and also that of the highest tax evasion by an individual in the country.

However, an order by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) last year had pegged his tax liability at about Rs 75 crore.

The ED had also attached few immovable assets of Khan under the PMLA as part of its probe against him, his wife Rheema and others.

Hasan Ali came under the scrutiny of multiple agencies, including the EoW of the Mumbai police in 2007