Delhi court denies bail to businessman in ₹48,000 crore PMLA fraud case

Hayer, the son-in-law of the late Nirmal Singh Bhangu, is one of the accused in the case linked to PACL. He is on bail granted by the Delhi High Court in a related case filed by the CBI

Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court has rejected the bail plea of businessman Harsatinder Pal Singh Hayer, accused in a money laundering case linked with the alleged cheating of investors to the tune of ₹48,000 crore.

Hayer, the son-in-law of the late Nirmal Singh Bhangu, is one of the accused in the case linked to PACL. He is on bail granted by the Delhi High Court in a related case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Special Judge (CBI) Jagdish Kumar rejected Hayer's bail plea in the money laundering case in view of the nature of allegations levelled against him. The court observed that the allegations against Hayer are that he has committed a white-collar economic offence involving the misappropriation of hard-earned money of gullible investors.

"The gullible investors were allegedly duped to the tune of about ₹48,000 crores. The economic offences are considered grave in nature," the Special Judge stated in the order passed on July 25.

The court also noted that the accused had allegedly attempted to destroy electronic evidence. "Although the trial of the case will take considerable time, considering the allegations against the accused and his role, I deem that he is not entitled to relief for enlarging him on bail. The application for grant of bail to the applicant/accused is dismissed accordingly," the order stated.

During the hearing, the counsel for the accused, Harsatinder Pal Singh Hayer, argued that he had been in custody for about four months and that the investigation against him had been completed. So his further custody is not required.

He also argued that Hayer was not the Director of any company which has allegedly collected money from gullible investors.

He further contended that accused was not a guilty mind or knowledge that the amount infused in Australian companies were collected illegally hence it cannot be presumed that Hayer was having knowledge of the same being collected by illegal means.

However, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), represented by Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Naveen Kumar Matta and Mohd. Faizan, opposed the bail plea. ED submitted that Hayer is the son-in-law of Shri Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, and he was also one of the Directors of the two Australian Companies, namely M/s Pearls Australasia Pty Ltd from February 2012 to January 2016, and M/s Australasia Mirage I-Pty Ltd from 13.02.2012 to 14.08.2014.

These are the companies to which POCs, generated by duping gullible investors, were diverted via M/S. PIPL, an associate company of M/s. PACL, ED argued.

The ED also argued that Hayder had deliberately not disclosed the properties being purchased from the proceeds of crime being layered through PACL and its associated entities, either in his personal account or in the accounts of companies of which he was a director.

Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) for ED also argued that Hayer is one of the Directors of M/s Pearls Australasia Pty Ltd and M/s Australasia Mirage I-Pty Ltd, in which ₹657.18 Crore was infused.

It was further argued that a FIR registered at Police Station Zira, Punjab in 2020 and through investigation of that FIR, facts were revealed that Hayer was involved in the sale and purchase of properties being acquired from the proceeds of crime laid by PACL.