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2020 (7) TMI 425 - ORISSA HIGH COURTGrant of Bail - Money Laundering - siphoning of funds - proceeds of crime - money circulation scheme - cheating and defrauding by alluring to invest ₹ 10,000/- in the attractive investment Scheme - HELD THAT:- In the instant case, the petitioner has been in possession of the “proceeds of crime” and it appears that he along with others have attempted to project the same as untainted money by transferring the same to different bank accounts in a bid to camouflage it and project it to be genuine transactions. The contention of the petitioner in so far as the question of being a pre-existing “knowledge” as per Section 3(b) of the Act and in order to be held culpable under Section 4 of the Act, the same deserves to be rejected for the simple reason that the question as to whether the accused had prior knowledge needs to be culled out from the facts and circumstances of the case - Even otherwise, the use of the disjunctive “or” in Section 3 makes it clear that presence of knowledge is not the only criteria making the accused culpable under the Act. The offence of Money Laundering is nothing but an act of financial terrorism that poses a serious threat not only to the financial system of the country but also to the integrity and sovereignty of a nation. The International Monetary Fund estimates that laundered money generates about $590 billion to $1.5 trillion per year, which constitutes approximately two to five percent of the world's gross domestic product - The offences, such as this, are committed with a deliberate design with an eye on personal profit and often shown to be given scant regard for a sordid residuum left behind to be borne by the unfortunate “starry eyed” petty investors. The perpetrators of such deviant “schemes,” including the petitioner herein, who promise utopia to their unsuspecting investors seem to have entered in a proverbial “Faustian bargain” and are grossly unmindful of untold miseries of the faceless multitudes who are left high and dry and consigned to the flames of suffering. The issue of retrospective application of penal laws/scheduled offences which has been vehemently raised by the petitioner, but for the purposes of the instant application, the said issue need not be gone into, especially in view of the materials on record which point towards prima facie involvement of the petitioner herein and thus at this stage, what is required to be ascertained is the question of the prima facie involvement of the petitioner in the light of Section 24 of the Act - There is no hard and fast rule regarding grant or refusal to grant bail. Each case has to be considered on its facts and circumstances and on its own merits. However, the discretion of the Court has to be exercised judiciously sans any element of arbitrariness. This Court is not inclined to release the accused Petitioner on bail - Bail application dismissed.
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