Mumbai, Jan 15 (PTI) A special PMLA court here has refused to discharge Saeed Khan, an associate of Shiv Sena leader Bhavana Gawali, in a money laundering case, saying he acted behind the curtain.

In an order passed on January 13, Special Judge AC Daga noted that there was enough material against him.

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Khan, accused of siphoning funds from a trust named ‘Mahila Utkarsh Pratishthan', was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in September 2021. He is currently out on bail.

Gawali, a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, has also appeared before the ED multiple times to record her statement in connection with the case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

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The ED has alleged that Khan and Gawali criminally conspired to convert a trust into a private company by forgery and fraud for “layering” around Rs 18 crore.

Rejecting Khan's discharge plea, the judge observed that the “accused was not office bearer or in-charge of the trust, but it does not mean that a person who is not office bearer cannot control the management of the trust. It is just like lifting the corporate veil of a company”.

“A person who is behind the curtain is required to be brought on the stage. In this matter, the record reflects that the accused was acting behind the curtain,” he added.

In his discharge plea, Khan had claimed that he was innocent and was never the office-bearer of trust. He said he became the chairman only after the trust turned into a company.

The conversion of the trust into a company took place at the instance of Gawali. There was no control of the accused over the trust, according to his discharge petition.

Khan has been falsely implicated because he was head of the committee that was appointed to inquire into fraud, it added.

The ED objected to his discharge plea contending that Khan forged documents for the creation of the company and had withdrawn cash and transferred it.

After perusing all documents, the court rejected Khan's plea.

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