Patiala House Court denies Bail to CA involved in Money Laundering Case for allegedly Siphoning off Loan amount and Diverting Funds

Patiala House Court - Bail - CA - Money Laundering Case - Siphoning off Loan - Diverting Funds - Taxscan

The Patiala House Court denied the bail to Chartered Accountants (CA) involved in Money Laundering Case for allegedly siphoning off the loan amount and diverting funds.

The applicant-accused, Raj Singh Gehlot is a senior citizen and owner of the Gurugram-based Ambience Mall. It has been submitted that he had been cooperating with the Directorate of Enforcement since 2019 on each and every occasion on receipt of notice under section 50 of PMLA. No offense under section 3 or 4 PMLA is made out against the applicant-accused. It is submitted that the arrest of applicant/accused in the present matter is in blatant violation of the provisions of Section 19 of PMLA and applicant-accused is languishing and ED is also in blatant violation of procedural law for non-compliance with the provisions of Chapter XII of CrPC in sharing the copy of ECIR.

It is further submitted that the applicant-accused is a nationally acclaimed businessman and highly reputed real estate developer who has been involved in the real estate business since 1986 and through his flagship organization “Ambience”, he has delivered real estate projects of international quality. It is submitted that the applicant/accused is the Director of M/s Aman Hospitality Pvt Ltd; the said company purchased a plot of commercial land at Shahdara admeasuring 20,000/- sq. meters in an open auction held by DDA for the purpose of construction and development of five-star hotel in order to meet the requirements of Commonwealth Games but allotment letter could be issued by the Hon’ble Apex Court, the building plans were sanctioned by DDA only and thus, depriving AHPL of an opportunity to launch the hotel for Commonwealth Games.

It is argued that the applicant/accused is an old and ailing man with firm roots in the society and he is neither a flight risk nor in a position to tamper with the evidence or influences the witnesses and thus, he deserves to be admitted on bail.

The Additional Sessions Judge, Dharmender Rana while refusing the bail said that the applicant/accused is a qualified Chartered Accountant. The crucial witnesses in the instant case are his acquaintances or relatives and being an influential person owing to his financial status and professional expertise, he would certainly attempt to influence the fair course of investigation in the case at hand.

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