NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has dismissed a money laundering case against industrialist Ratul Puri , Moser Baer India Ltd, and 11 others, holding that the predicate corruption offence registered by CBI had already collapsed.
The money laundering case stemmed from alleged bank frauds worth Rs 1,101 crore involving Moser Baer Solar Ltd (Rs 747 crore) and Moser Baer India Ltd (Rs 354 crore), once a leading manufacturer of CDs and DVDs. CBI accused Puri and others of siphoning loans sanctioned by a consortium of banks, with the purported connivance of bank officials who failed to monitor the funds.
Special Judge (CBI) Sushant Changotra ruled Thursday that no offence under Section 3 of PMLA survived in the absence of proceeds of crime, which is a sine qua non for prosecuting under the law.
"Accordingly, the present complaint is dismissed. The proceedings of this complaint case stand closed," the judge said, but left the door open for future action if a higher court overturns the May 24 discharge order.
ED had said CBI discharge was not final until challenged and pointed to a pending Supreme Court review in a separate matter. But the court said such arguments had already been "exhaustively dealt with" by Delhi high court.
Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, representing Puri, said once the predicate offence had been quashed, the laundering charge could not legally continue. "Under Section 3 of PMLA, the existence of proceeds of crime is an essential condition for prosecuting a money laundering offence," he said in court.
The money laundering case stemmed from alleged bank frauds worth Rs 1,101 crore involving Moser Baer Solar Ltd (Rs 747 crore) and Moser Baer India Ltd (Rs 354 crore), once a leading manufacturer of CDs and DVDs. CBI accused Puri and others of siphoning loans sanctioned by a consortium of banks, with the purported connivance of bank officials who failed to monitor the funds.
Special Judge (CBI) Sushant Changotra ruled Thursday that no offence under Section 3 of PMLA survived in the absence of proceeds of crime, which is a sine qua non for prosecuting under the law.
"Accordingly, the present complaint is dismissed. The proceedings of this complaint case stand closed," the judge said, but left the door open for future action if a higher court overturns the May 24 discharge order.
ED had said CBI discharge was not final until challenged and pointed to a pending Supreme Court review in a separate matter. But the court said such arguments had already been "exhaustively dealt with" by Delhi high court.
Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, representing Puri, said once the predicate offence had been quashed, the laundering charge could not legally continue. "Under Section 3 of PMLA, the existence of proceeds of crime is an essential condition for prosecuting a money laundering offence," he said in court.
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