Mumbai: A special PMLA court on Thursday discharged a bullion trader and five others in a scam of more than Rs84 crore pertaining to gold purchase post-demonetisation. Special judge Ajay Daga, hearing cases pertaining to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), discharged Chandrakant Patel and others in the absence of a predicate offence, and disposed of the case.
The money laundering matter, being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Patel, director of Pushpak Bullion, and others, was based on a case registered against them by the CBI.
Besides Patel, other accused in the case include two former Union Bank of India officials and directors of Pushpak Bullions.
During the hearing of the discharge pleas, the judge noted that the CBI court in 2022 accepted the closure report filed by the probe agency for closing the predicate offence. Hence there is no predicate offence against the accused.
The ED earlier submitted that it has challenged the CBI court’s closure report order before the Bombay High Court and the matter is subjudice. However, the PMLA judge said there is nothing on record to show that the HC has passed “any orders staying the effect of the order passed by the CBI court”.
Thus, considering the law laid down by the apex court as the accused have been finally discharged from the predicate offence, there is no offence of money laundering against them and hence entitled for discharge, it added.
