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2019 (7) TMI 576 - HC - Money LaunderingMoney Laundering - proceeds of crime - alleged purchase of fleet of cars out of the ill-gotten money and received about ₹16 crores in one year from Shell companies for bribing/ fixing cases in income-tax department - Section 120B/420 IPC and Section 13(2) read with 13(1) PC Act - Grant of Regular Bail - HELD THAT:- A bare perusal of the amended Section 45 would reveal that the introduction of the words “under this Act” would not revive the twin conditions as imposed in Section 45(1) PMLA which view has also been expressed by two other High Courts. A bare perusal of Section 24 reveals that in the case of a person charged with the offence of money laundering, the authority or the Court shall presume that such proceeds of crime are involved in money laundering unless the contrary is proved. The stage of raising the presumption or for the accused to rebut the said presumption would be during the course of trial. Even if assuming that at the stage of bail this Court is required to consider that the accused is prima facie required to rebut the presumption, the same would not have to be beyond reasonable doubt but on the basis of broad probabilities. In regard to the prima facie satisfaction of the Court in support of the charge in the two predicate offences on the basis of which ECIR stands recorded, the CBI has already clarified that in RC 0003 no pecuniary advantage has been received by the accused and thus there is no question of laundering the proceeds of the crime. In RC 0004 the complaint is by Kapil Wadhawan on behalf of M/s. White Lion Real Estate Developers Private Limited and it is alleged that a sum of ₹16,40,06,000/- has been extorted. There is no complaint from any of the entities noted in Para 25 above. Even otherwise as per the respondent, the total amount stated to have been laundered is approximately ₹52,55,00,000/- out of which ₹26,65,45,476/- stands attached - The maximum punishment provided for the offence punishable under Section 4 PMLA being 7 years imprisonment and the petitioner having undergone more than 1 year 1 month of custody and the trial likely to take some time, there being no material placed on record to show that the petitioner has been tampering of evidence and the statement of Alok Sharma which has been pressed in by the respondent stating that the petitioner forced him to remain associated with him, this Court finds it to be a fit case for grant of bail to the petitioner. The petitioner is directed to be released on bail on his furnishing a personal bond in the sum of ₹1 lakh with one surety bond of the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned Trial Court and some conditions imposed - petition allowed in part.
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