The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Enforcement Directorate to respond to a bail plea filed by Abbas Ansari, an MLA currently in jail over a money laundering case.
Abbas Ansari, the son of the late gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari, is seeking bail after his earlier request was denied by the Allahabad High Court.
Justices MM Sundresh and Sandeep Mehta directed the ED to reply to Ansari’s appeal challenging the High Court’s decision. On May 9, the High Court had rejected Ansari’s bail plea, citing evidence of a complex money trail linking him to the funds in question. The court noted that the flow charts provided by the ED clearly traced the origin and movement of the funds into Ansari’s accounts, leading to the denial of bail.
The High Court also pointed out that Ansari was connected to two companies, M/s Vikas Construction and M/s Aaghaaz, which the ED alleges were used for money laundering. Ansari, a member of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), was charged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, based on evidence from three previous cases. He was booked on November 4, 2022, and is currently held in Kasganj jail.
