Iqbal Mirchi money laundering case: Special PMLA court in Mumbai grants bail to two of four accused

Mumbai: A special PMLA court in Mumbai on Saturday rejected bail pleas of Haroun Yusuf and Humayun Merchant , both arrested by Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case involving gangster Iqbal Mirchi.

Special PMLA Judge P Rajvaidya refused bail to the two accused, both alleged aides of Mirchi. The court, however, granted bail to Ranjeet Bindra, a broker in the deal of Mirchi’s property, and Rinku Deshpande, through whom Bindra allegedly received his commission.

Earlier, while opposing their bail, ED said the case was sensitive, involving money generated from organised crime, and its suspected use for terror financing and in the narcotic trade was under investigation, the agency said. The case appears to have international ramifications as well, ED had claimed.

The four were arrested in October under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the ED’s probe into illegal real estate deals of Mirchi. The probe is into Mirchi’s purchase of three properties of Sir Mohammad Yusuf Trust in Worli area in the metropolis in September 1986 for Rs 6.5 lakh through his Rockside Enterprise.

Mirchi, who died in London in 2013, was an aide of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim.