Black money case: Delhi Court allows Moin Qureshi to go abroad

New Delhi, Mar 12: Controversial businessman Moin Akhtar Qureshi, an accused in a black money case, was today allowed to travel abroad for business purposes by a Delhi court which directed that he will not visit any nation which does not have extradition treaty with India.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Devendra Kumar Sharma directed Qureshi, a meat exporter, to furnish a surety bond of Rs 10 lakh and also submit itinerary giving details of his stay abroad before leaving the country.

The court allowed Qureshi's plea seeking permission to go to the United Kingdom, European Union and United Arab Emirates from March 13 to April 10 to attend business meetings and to negotiate with buyers for exports. "... application in hand is allowed and applicant/accused is permitted to visit the places mentioned in the application subject to the condition if there is extradition treaty with the country named in the plea i.e. UK, any country of EU and UAE for the period of March 13 to April 10 and subject to furnishing of surety bond in a sum of Rs 10 lakh," it said.

The judge directed Qureshi, who was also present in the court, to give an undertaking that he will not visit any of the country having no extradition treaty with India. He was asked to intimate the court on his return to India. Qureshi's plea was opposed by IT department's standing counsel saying there was every chance that the accused may abscond or flee from justice.

The counsel also said Qureshi should not be allowed as no affidavit/itinerary has been placed on record regarding exact place and purpose of visit. Qureshi was summoned by the court as an accused in the black money case filed by Income Tax (IT) Department for allegedly not disclosing his income of nearly Rs 20 crore.

His employee Aditya Sharma was also summoned as accused in the case and both were granted bail after they appeared in the court. While granting bail, the court had imposed condition on both the accused that they should not leave the country without its prior permission.

PTI