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Journalism of Courage
Absconding econ offender asks court to quash charges in another case, told to appear; ED licks lips
Pune businessman Hasan Ali Khan, who has evaded the authorities in major economic offence cases, may have made things difficult for himself by trying to rid himself of relatively minor charges.
The ED had earlier declared Khan an absconding suspect and informed the court that it was having difficulty in holding investigations as Khan was not available for questioning.
The charges under Khan amount to a staggering eight billion dollars.
A senior ED official said the agency will try to intervene or seek his custody from the court. 8220;We will seek a direction from the court to make him appear before us for a fixed time every day for a month,8221; the official said.
8220;We have so many documents and we need to confront and interrogate him. We need to file a charge-sheet, but are not in a position to conclude the investigation because of his non-cooperation,8221; the official added.
Asked if the agency had the power to arrest him with the available evidence, the official said that most of the cases are under FEMA, which is a civil matter. He said there is also a case under money laundering where there is a provision to arrest, but it cannot be done due to want of more evidence.
Khan, meanwhile, is left with no choice but to make an appearance in court if he wants his case to be heard. On Friday, the court made it clear that it will not hear the petition unless Khan himself is present.
The court gave the direction after additional public prosecutor Aruna Kamat Pai informed the bench that Khan was absconding and a proclamation notice has been issued against him.
Last year, the ED had stated that it has evidence to prove that the businessman has three passports and he is worth over 8 billion. The ED had said that, prima facie, there are strong indications of an international crime syndicate with money flowing in from 8220;proceeds of heinous crimes like terrorism, arms trade, gun running, corruption and organised forgery8221;.
8220;Possible links to terror financing also need to be probed,8221; including alleged links with international arms dealer Adnan Khashogi, the ED had said.
