The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of Mau MLA Abbas Ansari in connection with a money laundering case. Witnesses in the case are yet to be examined and it cannot be believed that Ansari will not commit an offence while out, the HC cited as reasons to deny him bail.
Abbas Ansari, the son of the late Mukhtar Ansari, won from Mau on a Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party ticket.
The Directorate of Enforcement is pursuing a case of money laundering against the legislator. The agency contends that large amounts of money were sent to the accused’s accounts through two firms- M/s Vikas Construction and M/s Aaghaaz. The transferred money was used, among other things, to buy arms. Abbas Ansari has contended that there were brought for sporting purposes and that he had nothing to do with the daily operations of the firms in question.
While dismissing the application the court noted that the bail applicant had not been cooperative and had evaded summons. "…only when the lookout notice was issued and in furtherance thereof the applicant was apprehended and during custody he gave his statements but nevertheless many of the transactions could not be explained by him by taking a plea that he did not know from where the fund was coming rather whenever he wanted the funds he asked his mother and maternal uncle and grand father who would arrange the funds", noted the court.
The court also noted that it did not ‘inspire confidence’ that an MLA and a national-level sportsman had no idea of the manner in which the funds were given to him or their quantum thereof.
However, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court which handed over the denial also noted that none of its observations should be taken as an opinion on the merits of the case. It directed the trial court to expedite the trial and complete it as swiftly as possible. The court has directed the prosecuting agency not to seek unnecessary adjournments on the grounds that witnesses were still being examined.
Kapil Sibal, who had appeared for the accused had said that the money credited to Ansari’s account could not be treated as the proceeds of crime.