Hasan Ali admits laundering money of politicians

Pune- based stud farm owner and real estate consultant Hasan Ali Khan has admitted to the Enforcement Directorate that he had handled corruption tainted money for around a dozen senior Indian politicians in the country. Majority of these politicians whose tainted money was routed to tax havens by Hasan Ali are from Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, a couple from Maharashtra, Jharkhand and south India. However, there has been no trail leading to the route were the tainted money was stashed in tax havens.

Ali in the last three weeks has revealed to ED that he had handled the tainted money of these politicians who are currently in power and also those who were earlier in power, in the last 15 years. Though he did not directly coordinate with the politicians, he admitted about his dealings with their close aides in the country and business associates operating as fronts out of foreign shores like Zurich, Brussels, Singapore and Dubai.

ED sources revealed that these close aides provided him logistic support to smooth ride in his money laundering operations without facing any hitches. The multiple passports in his possession, is one of the standing examples of his close proximity to powers running the administration in various government.

Ali, who has all along proved to be a hard nut to crack and always given evasive replies for every query thrown at him during interrogation, had finally admitted to have handled key political leaders' corruption and kickbacks tainted funds, when he was confronted with vital revelations made by his aide Kashinath Tapuria., who facilitated him in his hawala operations for around 15 years.

Tapuria who has been charged along with him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), disclosed about his interaction with key aides of politicians whose tainted money Hasan Ali routed out to tax havens. These tainted funds were either stashed in bank accounts or routed to front investments companies around the globe floated by the politicians' front men operating out from foreign shores.

It is learnt that when Ali was confronted with his dealings with the close aides of these political leaders' whose tainted funds he routed out of the country through his hawala ring, he split the beans about him. However, he did not elaborate on specifics of the trail of the funds routed to tax havens.