Dirty money trail leads to politicians

WHO IS THIS MAN: Hasan Ali (encircled) is absconding since raids were conducted.

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Mumbai: Unaccounted wealth worth Rs 35,000 crore, 10 Swiss bank accounts, prime property in metro cities, stud farms and Hawala connection.

What started out as a random scrutiny by the Income Tax department is turning out to be perhaps the biggest case in the history of India’s I-T investigations.

The taxmen claim to have netted Pune-based businessman and racehorse owner Hasan Ali, who could well turn out to be India’s fourth richest man.

The Enforcement Directorate is now waiting for Ali’s account details from the Swiss Bank to finally nail him.

Known for his affluence and interest in breeding thoroughbred horses, Ali was questioned after the raid on his premises across Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabdad and Bangalore. However, the taxmen failed to procure documents and necessary warrants to arrest him. Ali now seems to have gone underground.

“It is confirmed that the search was conducted by the I-T Department at Mumbai and Pune on a person associated with stud farms and horse race about two months back and indications of certain foreign accounts were found during the search. At this stage, it is not possible to confirm the quantum of evasion as a matter is still under investigation,” said Spokesperson of Central Board of Direct Taxes, AK Sinha.

While the killer haul is reason enough to keep the taxmen busy for some time to come, the real clincher could be whether Ali was a front for murkier deals like Hawala, involving bigger interests.

Sources have told CNN-IBN that the Enforcement Directorate has zeroed in on as many as 28 top politicians, three big corporate personalities and a renowned Bollywood financer.

Their names were reportedly found in the hard disk of Ali’s computer. The disk also reportedly has information about the money trail.

In fact one of the first persons to be questioned was Kashinath Tapadia, son-in-law of the late Priyamvada Birla of the Birla business house.

Kashinath is believed to be the interface between the businessmen and Ali in the Hawala racket.

How Ali was caught

It was Ali’s flamboyant lifestyle which made the I-T department suspicious.

Though his declared income was in lakhs, the Bungalow in Pune alone cost around Rs 10 crore.

Given below is a brief timeline of the case:

• Raids conducted in Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata between of January 5 and January 7, 2007.

• Sleuths find on Ali's computer details of transactions totalling Rs 35,000 crore through 10 Swiss bank accounts.

• An Enforcement Directorate team is sent to Switzerland between January 15 and January 19.

• Details of seven out of the 10 accounts found matching and the Government of India asks for the accounts to be frozen.

• Ali’s net allegedly spreads across India, Middle East and Saudi Arabia and he acts as a middleman to route money for some top political leaders, businessman and bureaucrats.

(With inputs from Kanhaiya Singh and Shilpa Dhamija)