BJP to rake up hawala racketeer Hasan Ali's issue in Parliament

Mumbai, Feb 4 (UNI) Accusing the Union Government of suppressing facts on alleged hawala racketeer Hasan Ali, senior BJP leader Dr Kirit Somaiya today said his party would rake up the issue in the coming Budget Session of Parliament.

''Twelve months have elapsed since the Income Tax authorities had swooped down on Hasan Ali. What is more surprising is that despite the probe by almost all the Revenue Intelligence and other investigative agencies into the various transactions, including the terror-funding links, he has not been arrested so far,'' Dr Somaiya said, while addressing mediapersons here today.

He alleged that during the Income-Tax raids, the authorities came across huge hawala transactions and in a probe by another agency, they found capital market transactions through Mauritius.

''The investigators have also come to know about his investments through non-transparent participatory notes as well as his three passports, which have been issued from Pune, Mumbai and Patna. They have also found an account in a Swiss bank. But despite all these evidence, the government and the investigative agencies are not placing these facts before the court,'' Dr Somaiya said.

He further said according to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), it has issued Ali 11 summons and six show-cause notices last year, but he did not appear even once.

''My question to the government is that, if this is true, then who is absolving Ali and what was compelling the government not to disclose the findings of the IT department, RBI, SEBI and the Rs 457 crore transactions done in the United Bank of Switzerland,'' he asked.

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