HC seeks ED reply on Aslam Wani's plea to quash money laundering case

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought Enforcement Directorate's (ED) response on a plea of Mohammad Aslam Wani, an alleged hawala dealer, seeking quashing of a money laundering case against him.

Justice Sanjeev Narula issued notice to the ED for its response and posted the hearing on September 26.

Wani sought quashing of the PMLA case arguing a 2010 trial court judgement clearing him of terror funding charges in a 2005 case, based on which the money laundering case was lodged in 2007.

He said the verdict was upheld by the Delhi High Court in October 2017.

Advocate M S Khan said his client Wani was cleared of all offences except under the Arms Act for possessing arms.

"Consequently, the allegations by the prosecution regarding the generation of proceeds of crime from criminal activities related to the scheduled offence do not hold water. This perfectly aligns with the legal principle that if the underlying scheduled offence does not stand, the related proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) also falls flat," Khan said.

He said Wani was aggrieved by the prolonged duration of the trial without any progress.

Charges against Wani and co-accused Shabir Shah, Kashmiri Separatist leader, were framed in January 2017, however, despite passage of nearly seven years, only 4 out of 33 witnesses have been examined, Khan added.

Wani was arrested from Srinagar on July 26, 2017, in the money laundering case.

Shah was arrested by the agency from Srinagar on 26 July, 2017.

The ED action against the two was in relation to a August 2005 case, in which Delhi Police's Special Cell had arrested Wani, a dealer who had claimed that he passed on Rs 2.25 crore to Shah.

In 2010, a Delhi court cleared Wani of terror funding charges but had convicted him under the Arms Act.

The ED registered a criminal case under PMLA against Shah and Wani.

Wani was arrested allegedly with Rs 63 lakh, received through "hawala" channels from the Middle East, and a large cache of ammunition, on August 26, 2005.

He allegedly told the police that Rs 50 lakh was to be delivered to Shah and Rs 10 lakh to Jaish-e- Mohammad area commander in Srinagar, Abu Baqar, and that the rest was his commission.

Wani, who hails from Srinagar, also claimed delivering around Rs 2.25 crore to Shah and his kin in multiple instalments.