Money-laundering case: Anticipatory bail plea of former Maha Minister Mushrif rejected

Mumbai, April 11 A special court here on Tuesday rejected the pre-arrest bail application of senior Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Maharashtra minister Hasan Mushrif in an alleged money-laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Apprehending arrest by the probe agency under the guise of investigations and recording his statements under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, Mushrif had moved the anticipatory bail plea.

The ED has contended that there was a movement of several crores of rupees from two companies without any substantial business to back up to the Sar Senapati Santaji Ghorpade Sugar Factory Pvt. Ltd, in which Mushrif's sons were the directors or stakeholders.

Mushrif said in his bail plea that the entire case was the result of a political campaign launched by Bharatiya Janata Party ex-MP Kirit Somaiya.

However, the ED denied the contentions and said its not pursuing the case for political reasons against Mushrif, a MLA from Kagal (Kolhapur) and a former minister in the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

The ED argued that Mushrif was trying to shift the culpability on others but that does not absolve the crime, and also accused him of allegedly misusing his position as Chairman of the Kolhapur District Central Cooperative Bank to favour entities linked with him.