Money laundering case: Supreme Court notice to ED on bail plea of MLA Abbas Ansari

Abbas Ansari, son of gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari, challenges bail rejection in money laundering case.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (August 14, 2024) sought a response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the bail plea filed by jailed MLA Abbas Ansari in connection with a money laundering case.

Abbas Ansari is the son of gangster-politician and former MLA Mukhtar Ansari, who died in jail a few months ago.

A bench of justices M.M. Sundresh and Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the ED and sought its reply on the appeal filed by Ansari challenging an order of the Allahabad High Court which rejected his bail.

The high court on May 9, 2024, had dismissed Mr. Ansari’s bail plea, noting the money trail put forward by the ED in the case against him.

“Considering the material available on record, including the flow charts which clearly demonstrate the origin of funds (and also explains how the funds found their way into the accounts of the accused Mr. Ansari), this court finds him not entitled for a bail at this stage,” the high court had said.

The high court had also mentioned in its order that the money trail links Mr. Ansari with the movement of funds to and from the two firms – M/s Vikas Construction and M/s Aaghaaz. The firms, the ED has alleged, were used by Mr. Ansari for money laundering.

The ED had registered a case against Mr. Ansari, a Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) MLA, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 on the basis of three previous cases.