According to the PMLA’s rules, the ED must have a prior “scheduled offence” before taking any legal action against a person.
An associate of Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) MLA Pratap Sarnaik was granted interim bail by the Bombay High Court on Monday in a money laundering investigation being conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The Tops Group security service provider firm, its proprietors, and other parties are being investigated in connection with alleged financial irregularities in supplying security guards for the projects of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
Amit Chandole, a supporter of the security company and a close friend of MLA Sarnaik, and M Sasidharan, the company’s previous managing director, received temporary release from a single bench of Justice M S Karnik.
After having their bail request denied by a special PMLA court, the pair went to the high court.
In view of the Supreme Court’s decision that a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cannot proceed if there is no preceding First Information Report lodged by another body, Mr. Chandole and Mr. Sasidharan had requested their release from prison.
According to the PMLA’s rules, the ED must have a prior “scheduled offence” before taking any legal action against a person.
While Mr. Sasidharan had been taken into custody a few months previously, Mr. Chandole was taken into custody in November 2020. The investigation agency filed its complaint based on a case that the Economic Offenses Wing of the Mumbai police had opened (EOW).
However, the EOW submitted a closure report to a magistrate’s court in January 2022, claiming that there was no proof of criminal activity. The court approved the report in September.
The Mumbai police still had 90 days to submit an appeal against the case’s conclusion, therefore the special court dismissed their arguments on that basis.
Interim Bail Granted for Shiv Sena MLA’s Aide in Money-Laundering Case
