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In 7 years, Hasan Ali made Rs 1.1 trillion
R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent

Staggering figures

n Inquiries conducted under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, showed that Hasan Ali had stashed a staggering US $8 billion, equivalent to about `36,000 crore, in just one account in the Union Bank of Switzerland n Investigations also revealed that he had sold a stolen jewel of the Nizam of Hyderabad for $7,00,000 and deposited the proceeds in the Barclays Bank in London

New Delhi, October 3
The Supreme Court order denying bail to Pune-based stud farm owner, Hasan Ali Khan, has documented details of his alleged wealth, dealings in arms and antiques and transfer of huge funds from one overseas secret bank account to another.

The Income Tax Department had assessed his income at Rs 1.1 trillion (Rs 1.1 lakh crore) in just seven assessment years (2001-08), a Bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir noted in the September 30 order. Incidentally, it was in 2007-08 that India became a $1 trillion economy, 60 years after attaining independence.

“We cannot ignore the fact that Hasan Ali had such an income and had not been able to establish that the same were neither the proceeds of crime nor untainted property,” the Bench remarked. The other Judge on the Bench was Justice SS Nijjar.

Inquiries conducted under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, showed that he had stashed a staggering US $8 billion, equivalent to about Rs 36,000 crore, in just one account in the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS), AG, Zurich, Switzerland.

Investigations also revealed that he had sold a stolen jewel of the Nizam of Hyderabad for $7,00,000 and deposited the proceeds in the Barclays Bank in London.

Hasan Ali had acquired three passports by submitting false documents and used them to open bank accounts in foreign countries to engage in laundering of tainted money, the Bench noted, citing submissions made by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). This “lends support to the apprehension” that he “may abscond” if released on bail, the apex court reasoned.

According to the ED, the accused had “enormous sums of money” in bank accounts in Switzerland, the UK and Indonesia, which indicated his involvement in dealing with “proceeds of crime and projecting the same as untainted property”.

There was documentary evidence to prove his links with international arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, the ED had said.